Yvette Sterling and Ruby Sullivan looked at Skylar Aldrin’s figure swaying away and exchanged a speechless glance.
"I really didn’t expect him to cling to us." Ruby Sullivan felt a bit apologetic, knowing that Mr. Sterling despised having outsiders stay over, which was why there wasn’t even a guest room prepared.
"It’s not your fault." Ethan Sterling grabbed her hand, gave Skylar Aldrin’s back a fierce glare, and led her to walk the other way.
They took a detour, and when they arrived downstairs at ho, Skylar Aldrin was smoking. Seeing them approach, he hurriedly stubbed out the half cigarette he had left.
"Stay downstairs and enjoy the breeze for ten minutes first; my wife’s nose is sensitive and can’t stand the sll of smoke." Ethan Sterling chided.
Skylar Aldrin sighed, "Bro, I’ve already taken enough hits today, can’t you be a bit gentler with ?"
"Then go ho." With that, Ethan Sterling took Ruby Sullivan inside.
Seeing Skylar Aldrin catch up to plead, Ruby Sullivan quickly covered her nose, "I’m a perfur, my sense of sll is valuable."
Skylar Aldrin was speechless and could only dejectedly turn around to get so fresh air outside.
On their way upstairs, Ruby Sullivan tilted her head to look at Ethan Sterling, curiously asking, "Why do I feel like Skylar Aldrin kind of respects you?"
Ethan Sterling smirked, "Because I’m outstanding."
Ruby Sullivan rolled her eyes, "Be serious."
"I guess... it’s because he can’t beat , plus the woman he likes sees as an idol."
"Oh, right. Gwen Yates definitely wouldn’t say she likes you in front of him. But, your martial arts skills really are impressive." Ruby Sullivan rembered the scene where he fought off five people singlehandedly and affectionately pinched his arm muscles.
Mr. Sterling might look slim, but his physique is surprisingly strong, and she liked it very much.
"In the past, when I drank too much during social gatherings and was waiting for the driver, I once encountered thugs trying to rob . That’s when I realized it’s good to have so skills." Ethan said he had learned so self-defense as a child, but it wasn’t advanced, and as a child, he didn’t appreciate its importance, so he had learned a bunch of half-baked stuff.
Learning from mistakes is what smart people do, so the next day he hired a top-notch master to start systematically learning kickboxing.
Sure enough, Skylar Aldrin blew so air downstairs for over ten minutes before coming up. Honey and Seth had already fallen asleep, and as soon as he entered, Ethan Sterling signaled him to keep quiet and told him he could only sleep in the living room, as there were no extra blankets, only an air-conditioning throw. But in this season, a throw wouldn’t be too cold.
After giving instructions, Ethan Sterling showed him where the restroom was, then went off to change clothes to get ready for bed, not wanting to pay him any more attention.
Skylar Aldrin originally wanted to chat about life with Ethan Sterling, but seeing that the latter wasn’t too welcoming, he didn’t bring it up. Besides, it was already late, and it seed better to leave any conversations for tomorrow.
There’s a saying, sothing about never waking a sleeping person.
He figured that when Ethan Sterling woke up refreshed, he might speak more kindly during their conversation.
After Skylar Aldrin’s interruption, Ruby Sullivan put Rhonda Sullivan’s matter to the back of her mind, only rembering it after her bath, when she lay in bed ready to sleep.
She has this problem; before going to sleep, she always habitually reviews her day, and if she rembers any important tasks left undone, she’ll get up to finish them.
Ethan Sterling knew her habit of restlessly tossing and turning at night was a sign she was overthinking things again, so he directly asked, "Do you want to hear tell a story?"
There was humor in his words, but his tone was extrely affectionate.
Rembering the story he had, Ruby Sullivan couldn’t help but laugh, "Sure, let’s hear your story about the old monk then."
"It’s not an old monk; it’s the story of three little monks." Ethan Sterling elongated his words to correct her mistake, took a mont to focus, and then began narrating that ancient yet famous story.
Sure enough, Ruby Sullivan fell asleep quickly amidst the almost chanting tone of narration.
She didn’t know how many more nights like this she could have with him; nonetheless, having even one more was a blessing worth cherishing.
The next day was Saturday, and Ethan Sterling and Ruby Sullivan rarely got to sleep in, only getting up close to ten in the morning.
As they erged from their room, they heard sounds of playful scuffling from the living room. On approaching, they saw Skylar Aldrin and Honey playing a Star Wars ga with toy lightsabers. Seth was spectating on the side, seemingly worried that the big guy might accidentally hurt his sister, so he kept a constant watch.
Seeing Ethan Sterling and Ruby Sullivan, Skylar Aldrin paused to greet, "Morning, Bro, Sis."
Honey was engrossed in playing and unaware of him stopping abruptly, she accidentally struck the back of his hand with the sword, causing Skylar Aldrin to yelp in pain and drop the sword.
Worried, Honey ran over, "Brother Leo, are you okay?"
Brother Leo... Ruby Sullivan found it amusing how her daughter was apt at giving endearing nicknas to those she liked.
As for Honey’s fondness towards Skylar Aldrin, neither of the couple was surprised. Although Skylar Aldrin wasn’t the smartest, his face inherited the best features from his parents’, making him very good-looking, though not quite on par with Ethan Sterling.
Moreover, in front of Honey, perhaps Skylar’s quirky intelligence could be an advantage.
"I’m fine, I’m fine." Skylar Aldrin laughed and ruffled Honey’s hair.
Honey bead with joy and hugged his leg, "That’s great!"
However, Ethan Sterling wasn’t too pleased seeing him, "Why are you still here?" and added, "You’re tricking my daughter, have you no sha?"
"I..."
Before Skylar Aldrin could speak, Honey anxiously blurted out, "Dad, can Leo hang out a while longer? He says he has no class today and can play with ."
"Okay." Ethan Sterling smiled benignly at his obedient daughter.
Skylar Aldrin felt intimidated by Ethan’s affection, "That was a quick change." The mont he said this, he was imdiately quelled by Ethan’s piercing gaze, making him afraid to talk further.
Ruby Sullivan glanced at Honey and advised, "It’s fine to play with him, but lightsabers can be a bit dangerous, so play sothing else."
"Got it, Mom." Honey nodded obediently and after pondering for a mont asked, "Brother Leo, want to do puzzles with ? Mine has five thousand pieces, and so parts aren’t finished yet."
"Sure." Skylar Aldrin, now allowed to stay longer, found Honey even more endearing.
"Then let’s go to my room." Honey tugged at his fingers and led him to her room.
With his sister gone, Seth wisely retreated to his room, vacating the living room for their parents.
Ethan Sterling wrapped an arm around Ruby Sullivan’s shoulders, "Any plans for today?"
Ruby Sullivan relaxed into his embrace and turned on the TV, "How about idling away the peaceful ti?"
"Not bad."
Ruby Sullivan smiled, her mind freed from chaos.
She knew she had things to say but reasoned it wasn’t the right ti with company around, hence saving any disagreents with Ethan Sterling for later.
anwhile, Rhonda Sullivan was in a private room of an upscale restaurant, waiting for the person she was looking for.
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