Chubby Mommy: Scheming Daddy, Surrender Now!-Chapter 120: Misty Dream

In the following days, apart from eating and shopping, Ruby Sullivan found herself leading an unusually dull life. Thankfully, the return tickets were already booked, so she wasn’t completely without hope.

She really missed Honey and Seth, and the video calls with the kids grew longer each night.

Ethan Sterling hoped this honeymoon trip could deepen their relationship, at least a bit. Unexpectedly, the highlight of Ruby Sullivan’s day was sleeping in the hotel. He thought it was due to her recent overtime and the jet lag, which made her lack energy. He forcibly took her out to stroll around, only to see her smiling perfunctorily the whole time.

Clothes and shoes—if asked to try them on, she would; if he thought they looked good, he’d buy them; otherwise, he wouldn’t, turning her into a beautiful marionette. Occasionally, she’d be captivated by perfumes in the mall, but after testing them, she’d lose interest.

Ethan Sterling felt that Ruby Sullivan was contending with him, though he couldn’t say over what. Nonetheless, she wasn’t her usual self— even less so than back home, leaving him feeling discontented and frustrated with no outlet for relief.

What Rhonda Sullivan did certainly made Ruby realize his importance, but it also brought an unexpected side effect for Ethan. Ruby became cautious around him, neither fawning nor trying to please him, yet always managing to hide her true emotions just right, as if wearing a protective mask in front of him.

Ethan Sterling knew he couldn’t rush things; he couldn’t just violently tear off her false face. But he feared that if he took things too slowly, she might concoct some messy plans in her mind on her own.

Seeing their days in Meridia swiftly pass by, Ethan was a little worried. He didn’t want Ruby to notice, which made the act exhausting, causing him to lie stiffly beside Ruby and only drift off into sleep when dawn was about to break.

Half awake, he heard Ruby calling him. Irritated from being woken, he turned over, clutched the blanket, and barked, "Don’t make noise!"

Ruby Sullivan sat at the head of the bed, pursing her lips helplessly.

During their stay in Meridia, Ethan always woke up earlier than she did, but she knew from his constant tossing and turning last night that he didn’t sleep well.

After a moment of silence, she stretched out her finger, gently poking his shoulder, "Are you going to sleep or go out with me?"

"Sleep," Ethan answered indistinctly without opening his eyes, evidently irked by her poking. After speaking, he turned over, holding the blanket and facing the other side.

Ruby didn’t waste any more time, gently leaving the room. She didn’t take the room card so he could continue enjoying the air conditioning, hoping he’d be awake by the time she returned.

Nearly half an hour later, she met up with Leon Sterling, who had been waiting for quite some time outside an exhibition hall.

Leon gave Ruby a big hug, then scrutinized her carefully for three minutes. Raising an eyebrow discontentedly, he said, "Why have you gotten thinner?"

"Telling a girl she’s thin is a compliment," Ruby blinked, turning his earnestness into a joke.

After all, she was once quite chubby; her current figure wasn’t easily achieved. She always paid close attention to her weight, weighing herself at home daily. She had indeed lost a bit recently, but she didn’t think anyone could notice such a minimal change with the naked eye.

Leon pursed his lips, knowing she was using this approach to maintain an appropriate distance from him, so he just smiled back without saying much more. Glancing behind her and not spotting his brother, he was momentarily puzzled, "How did my brother let you out alone?"

"He probably didn’t sleep well last night and... overslept today." Ruby found it odd to think of someone as grown as Ethan oversleeping. Even as his wife, saying it felt somewhat awkward.

Leon laughed heartily at that, "Even a robot like my brother oversleeps?" He bent over and looked at her, suddenly pinching her nose teasingly, "Seems your charm isn’t strong enough; otherwise, why would your husband oversleep during a honeymoon?"

Startled by his sudden move, Ruby unwittingly pulled at the corners of her mouth, pretending not to understand his jab, "His sleep has always been poor."

A flicker of sadness passed through Leon’s eyes, "Let’s go inside then."

He learned Ethan and Ruby were on their honeymoon in Meridia a few days ago while video chatting with Seth and Honey. His art exhibition coincidentally arrived in Novaniel, so he casually asked, though Meridia is vast, whether they might see him in any city. To his surprise, they were also in Novaniel.

Ruby always liked Charles’s paintings, seizing the opportunity to visit his exhibition was too tempting to resist. She thought Ethan would surely accompany her, but unexpectedly, Ethan overslept!

She never anticipated this from him.

Charles became famous immediately upon debuting, causing a sensation yet remaining quite mysterious. Except for his agent, no one knew what he looked like. This air of mystery didn’t deter people’s admiration; rather, it piqued further curiosity. Naturally, some speculated it was intentional hype.

However, Charles merely wanted some convenience, such as freely visiting art exhibitions he wished to see, including his own.

Leon was always somewhat smug when watching people admire his proud creations. But he never imagined that one day the person he liked would be standing here admiring his paintings, making him feel inexplicably... bashful.

At this moment, Ruby Sullivan was standing in front of a painting called "Dream of Mist". The painting was splashed with the bright hues of a rainbow, featuring a long-haired girl wearing a floral crown, dressed in a white gown, seated on a nine-colored deer. The colors were so splendid it seemed uncharacteristic of Charles’s style.

She stood there, not because the painting shared a name with her latest perfume, but because despite the vivid hues intended to evoke joy, she felt a sense of melancholy.

"This painting..." She turned to look at Leon Sterling, who was also gazing at the painting. In a trance, she thought even the smile at the corner of his mouth was tinged with sorrow, leaving her to forget what else she wanted to say.

Hearing her voice, Leon turned, his eyes regaining their light, "Initially, I intended to gift it to you once your perfume launched, but who could predict such unforeseen events..." He sighed, "Luckily, my brother resolved everything. Do you like it?"

Ruby reeled back the questions she was about to ask, nodded, "I do like it. Actually, I don’t really understand paintings. It’s just that the first time I saw your works, I immediately loved them. It felt like you had so much happiness to share with others, just looking at your paintings makes one feel joyous." But this painting, however, left her only with a feeling of sadness.

Inwardly, she wanted to ask if he wasn’t happy while painting it.

"Would you like to know who the girl on the nine-colored deer is?" Suddenly, tilting his head, he forced his way into her line of vision, smiling with a hint of mischief.