CHAPTER 71: CHAPTER 71: FEELING LIKE AN IDIOT

Ethan Sterling stared intently at Ruby Sullivan’s profile, lost in thought. At that moment, the bodyguard dragged Gemma Joyce by the arm and walked to them, "Mr. Sterling, what should we do with this woman?"

Gemma Joyce was shaking like a leaf, cautiously raising her eyelids to glance at Ethan Sterling, only to be so frightened by the cold glint in his eyes that her knees went weak. If not for being held up, she might have already collapsed to the ground.

"It’s not my fault, it really isn’t," Gemma pleaded anxiously, barely finishing her sentence before bursting into tears.

Ethan Sterling frowned, uninterested in hearing her out, "Take her back first."

"Yes." The bodyguard responded and led her to the car.

Gemma Joyce inhaled sharply, with only fear left in her mind, wanting to escape and plead for her life, "Please, Mr. Sterling, spare me, it really wasn’t my fault. Wenny, save me, save me..."

The more Gemma’s noisy pleas irked Ethan, "So noisy."

Hearing this, the bodyguard roughly gagged Gemma Joyce and shoved her into the car to take her away.

Howard came over to check their injuries, "Let’s go to the hospital for a check-up."

Ethan Sterling was about to agree when Ruby Sullivan, who had been silently keeping her head down, suddenly lifted her face, "You guys go... I want to go home."

She looked at Ethan Sterling, hoping her gaze was calm and normal, wanting him to think that this was nothing to her. But she didn’t know, her eyes betrayed a fear she couldn’t hide, and her slightly hoarse voice carried a barely noticeable tremor.

These subtle details were so clear to Ethan Sterling.

After speaking, Ruby Sullivan attempted to shrug off Ethan’s hand from her shoulder, only for the hand to grip tighter at her slightest movement.

Ethan looked to Howard, "Take us home."

"Yes." Howard obeyed, handing his car keys to a bodyguard and quickly walking down the path to find Ethan’s car parked by the main entrance.

Ethan patted her on the shoulder, "Let’s go."

Ruby hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She remembered she had promised to give Levi Joyce’s bandmates a ride home, "You take my car and drive them back."

Levi nodded and quickly walked over to her side, feeling guilty; if he had noticed something wrong earlier, she wouldn’t have suffered so much, "Boss, I’m sorry, I... couldn’t even help."

Ruby glanced at his remorseful look and said wearily, "You’re my assistant, not a bodyguard. I let you call me boss, and you really see yourself as a little disciple? Go on, don’t make your friends wait."

"Okay, then... I’ll go, see you in the morning."

Ruby nodded.

Once Levi left, she tilted her head to look at Ethan, who was walking beside her with a bit of a limp, "Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?" Although not obvious, she felt he was using her as a crutch.

"No need." He looked ahead, saying firmly.

Ruby exhaled and gave up on further discussion, he wasn’t going then he wasn’t. Her mind was too chaotic to offer more concern.

Their pace was slow, Howard assumed Ethan was accommodating Ruby, and though he noticed in the rearview mirror, he thought nothing of it.

It was only when Ethan got into the car that Howard realized Ethan was limping, he couldn’t help but turn around, "Mr. Sterling, you should still visit the hospital."

"We’ll talk about it tomorrow." Ethan coldly refused.

Ruby leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes to rest, as if she couldn’t hear their conversation.

Howard glanced at her, knowing his further persuasion would be a waste of breath, so he sat up straight and started the car.

As the car drove onto the main road, Ruby suddenly remembered her daughter, "Did Honey make it home?"

"I had her stay with The Sterling Family."

Ruby exhaled in relief, "I said I’d pick her up tonight, but now I can’t..." She checked the time on her phone, slightly raising her voice, "Howard, let’s go to my house first." Her face felt hot; she couldn’t tell how many slaps she had received, it felt tight like never before, possibly swollen.

She didn’t want the Sterling Family to see her in this state.

Ethan took her hand, "Seth Sterling is with her, don’t worry."

Ruby had long been cold-handed and cold-footed, particularly at night, while Ethan’s palm was warm. After a moment’s hesitation, she withdrew her hand and clasped it in front of her.

Her mind was currently a mess, unable to think about anything more.

Once they reached Ruby’s building, Ethan also got out of the car.

"You don’t have to see me off, you can go back," Ruby said, not wanting to trouble him with his limp.

"Who said I was seeing you off?" Ethan closed the car door, knocked on Howard’s window, "Come pick us up in the morning, tell Levi not to bother."

"Yes, Mr. Sterling."

Ruby looked at him blankly, somewhat helpless. She really didn’t have the energy to deal with him further. She knew arguing was futile, so she defiantly walked ahead.

Ethan could only hurry to catch up but suddenly let out an "Ah" as he stopped, bending one leg and freezing in place.

Howard was about to get out of the car but froze in place upon receiving a look from Ethan, decisively turned the car around, and drove away.

Ruby glanced back at him, and although somewhat indifferent, she stepped back, "I’ll call Howard to take you to the hospital."

Ethan lifted his head and pulled her to his side, "No, let’s go home."

Ruby sighed, resigned herself to being his crutch, and led him home.

Once inside, she immediately fetched a first-aid kit. Out of concern for Honey, they had a complete set of injury-related medicines at home. She found some Yunnan Baiyao spray and rolled up his pant leg to see his shin was red and swollen high.

Ruby pressed her lips in a thin line as memories of him using his leg to block a car door flashed through her mind, touched by the thought that it must have hurt a lot, yet he hadn’t made a sound when it happened.

For a long moment, she did nothing, her expression heavy, then exhaled deeply, "Let’s spray this on, but you should still go to the hospital tomorrow."

"Okay." Ethan replied softly, yet his eyes were fixed steadily on her face.

Earlier outside, he hadn’t noticed much besides her bleeding wrist, but now, under the white light, he saw her face, red as if it had been slapped multiple times, swollen and barely keeping its shape, with purplish-black finger marks around the edges, clearly from more than one slap.

Never had he felt such heartache, wanting to reach out and touch it, but afraid of hurting her, he withdrew his hand once more.

When he saw her finishing with the medication and looking up, he quickly averted his gaze. Perhaps having witnessed her feigned stoicism too often, at this moment, he instinctively wanted to protect her pride.

In truth, Ruby had been deliberately keeping her head down, avoiding too much eye contact with him, afraid he’d ask about tonight’s ordeal; even she didn’t want to reflect on what had truly transpired tonight.

No matter what the truth was, she only felt like a fool tonight.