CHAPTER 81: CHAPTER 81: YOU ARE MY ANGEL

Ethan Sterling held back his anger for a few minutes, parked the car on the side of the road, and gripped the steering wheel tightly, staring coldly ahead with a calm before the storm settling on his face.

A few seconds later, he tilted his head to look at her, "Do you know that Leon Sterling is my brother?"

Ruby Sullivan was stunned, looking at him, not knowing how to answer the question. Did he think she didn’t know?

He let out a long sigh, "Forget it, get out of the car, and go with whomever you want." With that, he unlocked the safety lock.

Ruby Sullivan’s brow furrowed tightly with anger, unsure of how to vent it. She glared at him, quickly undid her seatbelt, opened the car door, but felt unwilling.

Clearly, he was the one who refused first, so why now did it seem like she was at fault? Did he really think she was his accessory? When rejected, was waiting indefinitely the only option?

Ruby Sullivan took a deep breath, tilted her head once more to look at Ethan Sterling, "Ethan Sterling, you were the one who refused me first." She said this and got out of the car, but heard his hysterical voice behind her.

"Didn’t you ask me to be your dance partner just to make Rhonda Sullivan angry?" Ethan Sterling turned his head, sneering with disdain in his eyes, "Since it’s mutually beneficial, why bring emotions into it?"

Ruby Sullivan stood still, was silent for a moment, and nodded, "Yeah, it’s just work, no need to get emotional." With that, she slammed the car door shut.

Ethan Sterling didn’t linger for a moment, stepped on the gas, and the car disappeared into the distance.

At the birthday party, the only thing Rhonda Sullivan wanted him to do was be her dance partner. Since it was to settle the score, he didn’t want to fuss over such a small matter and initially planned to take her to buy nice clothes and tell her the truth.

Thinking of this, Ethan Sterling smiled self-mockingly. He must have eaten something wrong recently, wanting to explain such matters to a woman?

Left by the roadside, Ruby Sullivan wanted to take off her shoes and smash his car.

However, despite her anger, her mind was still clear. While shoes were easy to take off, smashing someone else’s car wasn’t as simple.

She sighed, swaying her bag as she walked along the road for over thirty minutes until her feet started to hurt, then called Leon Sterling, asking if he could come pick her up.

Her goal was to make Ethan Sterling unhappy. Since going with Leon Sterling made him so angry, she decided to make him angry to the end.

Leon Sterling arrived quickly, with no Honey in the car.

"Vivian is teaching Honey and Seth how to bake a cake, so I didn’t bring her out." Leon Sterling explained with a smile, only noticing her gloomy face after speaking, "What’s wrong with you?"

Ruby Sullivan smiled slightly and shook her head, "It’s nothing serious..." She then bit her lip, a bit nervously asking, "On Saturday, Rhonda Sullivan is having a birthday dance, can you be my male partner?"

"Of course." Leon Sterling agreed immediately, not even thinking about who Rhonda Sullivan was.

"Thank you."

Leon Sterling raised his hand to pinch her nose dotingly, "What’s there to thank me for?" Then he sat properly to drive, "Do you want to go to my place to eat the cake made by those three kids or go with me to check out a good restaurant?"

After waiting for a while and getting no answer, he tilted his head to look at her confused, and found Ruby Sullivan staring blankly, "Wenny?" He waved his fingers in front of her eyes.

Ruby Sullivan blinked and finally came back to her senses, "What?"

Seeing her distracted look, Leon Sterling didn’t bother asking again, "Nothing, just follow me. Um... let’s just go to this restaurant."

Ruby Sullivan awkwardly turned her head, uncomfortably touching her nose.

It seemed there had been quite a bit of close interaction with Ethan Sterling, but none made her as uncomfortable as just now. Ruby Sullivan couldn’t help but sigh, suddenly realizing that since she lost weight, she had been very resistant to the advances of men around her.

This was probably the main reason why she hadn’t been able to be in a relationship.

During the meal, Leon Sterling kept trying to find a topic, but no matter what he said, he couldn’t bring back Ruby Sullivan’s attention. He had to put down his chopsticks, pouting and looking sadly at Ruby Sullivan, "What’s wrong with you today?"

Ruby Sullivan looked up, seeing his face, feeling like looking at a pouting little brother, and all her maternal instincts were triggered, she couldn’t help but laugh, "Sorry, I’m just having a rough time at work."

Leon Sterling’s gaze wandered, testingly asking, "Is it related to big brother?"

"Hmm..." Ruby Sullivan elongated her voice, looking at the sky and thinking, "Sort of."

Leon Sterling prodded the rice in his bowl, mildly suggesting, "Actually, with your current capability, you can totally start your own business. Why not consider doing it yourself?"

Ruby Sullivan didn’t expect the great artist to give her such high praise, "Maybe in the future."

Putting aside her current plans, starting a business wasn’t just about talent. She would need startup capital and skills in operation and management. All she had was a talent for fragrances, which was far from qualifying for starting her own business.

"Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask you something." Ruby Sullivan also put down her chopsticks, looking at him sincerely, "Why do you remember me? Do you remember everything you see with an eidetic memory?" Eidetic memory and such were beyond the comprehension of someone like Ruby Sullivan, who always struggled; she had only seen such superpowers in novels and TV shows.

Leon Sterling smiled, focused on her eyes, as if he saw the little girl with the smiling face appearing once more, "I only remember the pictures I want to remember. My childhood was very unhappy; it got to a point where I shut down all my emotions, but after seeing you, I suddenly felt the world wasn’t so bad. Since that day, there was a light in my world, and because of that light, I’m who I am today."

Leon Sterling paused, eyes filled with images of Ruby Sullivan, "To me, you’re like an angel; how could I forget such an important person?"

Ruby Sullivan looked at the sincerity on his face, knowing that every word he said was true.

She sighed with some regret, "If only you hadn’t followed Aunt abroad; maybe... we would already have been good friends."

Leon Sterling raised an eyebrow, also regretful, "Yeah, maybe you would have married me instead of my brother."

Ruby Sullivan burst out laughing, looking at his flower-like face, unable to help but mock herself, "Back then, I was a big fat girl with a bear-like body and elephant legs, my features squeezed out of shape by fat; it’s good enough you didn’t avoid me, let alone marriage..." Thinking of those days, she couldn’t help but lower her head, "Now that I think about it, with my appearance back then, probably only a sumo wrestler would find me attractive, also it’s hard on your brother."

Leon Sterling watched her expression, his voice suddenly softening, "So, are you back now to win back my brother’s love?"

Ruby Sullivan shook her head, "I’m Wenny now, just wanting to live a brand new life."

Leon Sterling smiled again, "Actually, I’ve seen your wedding photo with my brother, and I think... you were very cute then. I have a painting called ’Amélie’s Angel’ that was inspired by you."

Ruby Sullivan had seen that painting; it depicted a chubby Cupid, too fat to fly, seemingly lonely sitting on a donut, eating macaroons, despite the disdainful gazes of companions around, yet still carefree and happily enjoying himself.

So she was that angel!

Ruby Sullivan suddenly felt moved; the way she was also brightened someone else’s world back then.

However, Leon Sterling, watching her smile, suddenly turned away, afraid she’d notice the warmth on his cheeks.

After Leon Sterling sent Ruby Sullivan home, he returned home a bit late, but he still went to knock on Ethan Sterling’s door.

The young master Sterling was full of resentment, sitting on the bay window sipping bitterly at his drink. When he saw him come in, he immediately frowned, "What do you want?"