CHAPTER 66: CHAPTER 66: THE STERLING FAMILY’S GREAT ARMY

At dinner time, Rachel Lawson looked at the vast dining table with only herself sitting there, feeling a bit upset. She had specifically asked the servants to call her for dinner, wanting to rare reunite with the children.

Well, it turned out that her eldest son took his grandson out to eat, her daughter refused to get out of bed for her diet, and her youngest son claimed to have run into an old friend. He left Celestia at the age of ten; how could he have an old friend? It was ridiculous!

Rachel Lawson angrily glanced at the dishes on the table and asked irritably, "Did Ethan Sterling and Seth Sterling also used to not eat at home?"

Mrs. Jewel immediately chimed in, "Ever since the little young master arrived, sir mostly dined at home. It’s just that recently Miss Wallace borrowed Mama Bennett, so sir and the little young master rarely eat at home now." She observed Rachel’s expression and, thinking that her frown indicated a dislike for Wenny, tentatively continued, "Madam, I’d say finding a servant isn’t difficult, yet Miss Wallace, knowing full well that sir and the little young master are picky eaters, accustomed to Mama Bennett’s cooking, intentionally borrowed her, obviously to find reasons for sir and master to dine out."

Rachel listened to her long-winded talk, raised an eyebrow, and showed a hint of sarcasm in her eyes, "How many servants does The Sterling Family have?"

"The gardeners come regularly to maintain the garden. Including Mama Bennett and myself, there are four of us taking care of sir and the young master’s needs."

"Is there a butler?"

"After Miss Sullivan moved in, she discovered the former butler was not entirely clean-handed and had him dismissed. Anyway, with her making decisions on all household matters, there’s no need for a butler." Mrs. Jewel, cheerfully, said a good word for her master.

Rachel snorted coldly, sarcastically, "No wonder there is such a lack of manners, taught by someone with none!"

Mrs. Jewel’s smile immediately froze, and she bowed her head, palms sweating. This Mrs. Sterling, although seemingly friendly and often smiling, her angry appearance is even more intimidating than sir’s!

Rachel glared at her, "Why are you still standing here? Are you trying to annoy me?"

Mrs. Jewel shuddered and quickly apologized, "Sorry, madam." She then hurried off.

Rachel looked at the dishes on the table and lost her appetite, huffily getting up and calling her youngest son while storming out; tonight, she was determined to have someone accompany her for dinner!

*

At Ruby Sullivan’s home, Honey sat in a chair, repeatedly sizing up the two handsome uncles opposite her, and smiled at Seth Sterling, "Brother Sterling, I think Uncle Number One and Uncle Number Two look a bit alike."

Seth nodded, "Of course, because they’re brothers."

Leon Sterling beamed, "Honey, you have a good eye!"

Ethan Sterling’s expression wasn’t as bright. His brow moved, "Why are you here?"

"Me?" Leon pointed at himself; his big eyes blinked twice, not having a story ready. Luckily, his phone rang; he seized the opportunity and answered, "Vivian, what’s up?"

"None of you are having dinner with me, I’m unhappy; where are you, I’ll come to find you."

Leon sweetly replied, blinking even faster, "Aren’t you dining alone in Gallia?" After gaining independence, he bought an apartment and moved out. Cindy was also busy and rarely home; how could she be cooing over something like this?

"I’m in Celestia now!" Rachel sternly stated, "Tell me where you are quickly."

At this moment, Ruby Sullivan came over with a plate of food, noticing his weird expression.

Leon covered the microphone and asked softly, "If we add one more person, will there be enough food?"

Ethan’s face turned wooden, "She’s coming?"

Ruby looked bewildered, "There’s enough..."

"Okay." Without waiting for her to finish, Leon told the phone, "I’ll send you the location. Big brother and little Seth are here."

He put down the phone, sensing the sharp eyes aimed his way, innocently asked, "Big bro, is something on my face?" What does that look of yours mean, planning to give me a facelift?

Ethan’s lip line smoothed, eyes cast over Honey’s slightly bowed head, landed on the wall, and he repeated the earlier inquiry calmly, "Why are you here?"

Leon’s smile turned into a squinty silly grin, sometimes a too-smart big brother is genuinely troublesome.

"We knew each other before." Ruby, bringing over a bottle of wine, hastily butted in, eyes flitting from Leon to Ethan, smiling stiffly, "I’ve attended quite a few of Charles’s exhibitions, just didn’t expect him to be your brother."

She knew Emma from abroad, and getting acquainted with equally outstanding Charles was certainly not unusual.

Ruby watched Ethan’s expression cautiously, worried he’d glean something dubious.

Ethan kept his focus steady on him, "It’s indeed a small world."

Ruby couldn’t quite gauge how much he believed, but she considered the half-truth an acceptable brush-off.

Leon, reading the room, smiled cheerily to deflect, "That’s fate for you!"

The two little ones were already munching fruit, not paying much attention to the adults’ conversation, yet the word "fate" made Honey’s eyes shine, and she quickly tugged Seth’s hand, saying, "Brother Sterling, it’s also fate we know each other."

Seth popped a cherry into her mouth, muttering, "Don’t talk while eating, you’ll choke." Clearly embarrassed by the little girl’s statement. Fate and whatnot, those words aren’t meant to be casually thrown around. Truly a silly girl.

Once Rachel entered, the small dining room instantly felt full.

Rachel couldn’t care less why both sons ended up here. As soon as she walked in and smelled the aroma, she was won over by Ruby’s culinary skills and promptly made a decisive suggestion, "Just move into The Sterling Family home. Anyway, there’s a spare room, so no need to come over daily to scrounge meals. It’s been ages since I’ve had such scrumptious Celestian food."

"Not a bad idea!" Similarly enamored by the food, Leon immediately gave his vote of approval.

Ruby awkwardly smiled, unsure how to respond. After all, they were her boss’s mother and brother; being direct didn’t seem appropriate.

But didn’t they forget she’s not their family chef?

At this point, the two tardy little ones also nodded, thinking it a good idea.

Honey, oblivious to her mom’s helpless gaze, cheerfully said, "Mom and I stayed at Uncle Sterling’s house for a few days; we were thrown out by the sleeping great-grandmother. It would be great to go back again!"

Ruby facepalmed, covering most of her face, internally collapsing; my silly girl, being kicked out isn’t glamorous. Can you not be so jubilant sharing it? What about mom’s dignity?

Ethan’s face remained expressionless, glancing at the tableful of people, saying coldly, "Wenny is The Sterling Group’s perfumer; her work is quite busy. You all need to moderate."

"Then just reduce her workload!" Rachel righteously demanded.

Ethan drooped a half-closed eyelid, staring at her stiffly, "She’s expensive."

Ruby noticed the mother-son duo’s facial expressions and worried that if the topic continued, there’d be a risk of a blown-up scene. She quickly served Rachel a bowl of soup, apologizing, "With a new product launching soon, indeed busy. If you like, I’ll invite you over when I have time."

Rachel finally smiled with satisfaction, "Agreed, drop the ’auntie’, call me Vivian."

Ruby hesitated but complied, "Vi-Vivian."

After sending off the Sterling family’s three generations of four, Ruby finally sighed in relief. Aside from cooking, the mental tension was indeed tiring.

After coaxing Honey to sleep, she lay down early in bed.

Reflecting on tonight was eventful. Leon suddenly called, saying he’d bought chocolate for Honey, and soon The Sterling Family arrived.

She exhaled deeply, turned to turn off the bedside lamp, and hadn’t yet adjusted to a sleeping position when the phone rang—it was Ethan calling.

"I came over today to ask what you meant by saying Ruby Sullivan isn’t dead." He rattled off, not giving her a chance to interrupt.

Ruby’s brain buzzed, recalling that night, and stammered, "I was trying to persuade Grandma, Mr. Sterling, I’m tired, goodnight." With that, she hastily hung up.

On the other end, Ethan frowned at the darkened phone screen. This damn woman hung up on him again; he was determined to see how long she could pretend!