Chubby Mommy: Scheming Daddy, Surrender Now!-Chapter 261: Caring Too Much About You

Ruby Sullivan and Ethan Sterling entered the house chatting and laughing, but the two kids didn’t come to greet them. Instead, a worried Mama Bennett came over and whispered, "Honey doesn’t like that Mr. Bishop, she’s sulking in the living room and didn’t eat her lunch properly."

Ruby had indeed anticipated Honey might be unhappy, but she hadn’t expected her to throw a tantrum. Her daughter had never been this willful before.

"I’ll go talk to her." Ethan changed his shoes, intending to find Honey, but Ruby stopped him, "Let’s go together."

Ruby was concerned; Honey couldn’t be throwing such a fit just because the tutor wasn’t a male teacher. If that was the case, then she would rather not hire a tutor at all than indulge her daughter’s whims.

Honey was slouching on the couch watching her favorite cartoon, pouting and obviously upset. Even though she knew her parents were home, she didn’t rush to greet them as usual but instead pretended not to see them.

Ruby looked down at Honey, taken aback.

If the little girl was already stuck in a rebellious phase, what would happen in the future?

Both she and Ethan sat down on either side of Honey. Ruby was the first to speak, "Do you want to talk to us?"

Honey crossed her little chubby arms in front of her, "I don’t want to. It’s pointless to talk."

Ethan decisively picked up the remote and turned off the TV, "Dad doesn’t like kids who throw tantrums."

Although he doted on his daughter, he still maintained his authority. As expected, Honey pursed her lips and threw herself into her mother’s embrace.

Okay, he was wrong. Ethan’s head started to ache.

Ruby hugged her daughter, deliberately lowering her voice, "What exactly happened? Can you quietly tell Mom?"

Honey said pitifully, "Today, I told Mr. Bishop I didn’t want to hear stories. I wanted to learn something, so I picked my brother’s book on simplified physics and asked him to explain it to me. But... I couldn’t understand any of it, and then I saw her chatting with her friend on WeChat saying I’m dumb."

Ruby hadn’t figured out how to comfort her daughter yet when she felt a wave of low pressure. Glancing up, she saw Mr. Sterling was already on the verge of losing it, his face dark and frightening.

But truth be told, Ruby knew her daughter’s level. Honey had insisted on choosing something challenging, which most likely frustrated the young girl, leading her to vent to her friend. However, how could such a thing carelessly be seen by Honey? It’s similar to badmouthing your boss behind his back and getting caught.

It seemed that Mr. Bishop couldn’t continue as Honey’s tutor. Now the question was whether to keep looking for a tutor for Honey or just abandon the idea altogether.

Ruby glanced at Ethan, a bit unsure.

Ethan called Claire Bishop in front of his daughter, informing her that her fees for the past few days would be transferred to her account and that she didn’t need to come anymore.

Claire Bishop was puzzled, "Why? Mr. Sterling, is there some misunderstanding?"

"I suppose when you called my daughter dumb, you already didn’t want to teach her anymore."

"I..."

Ethan hung up the phone without waiting for her explanation. He turned to his daughter, "So are you still pining for that male teacher?"

Honey swung her small feet, saying one thing while meaning another, "Actually, sister tutors are fine too, I just... don’t like that one."

Ethan sighed inwardly. Her way of not speaking directly resembled someone too much; it was exasperating!

Suddenly, he cracked a smile and lifted his daughter onto his lap, "Honey, can you tell Dad why you’re so keen on catching up to your brother?"

Honey glanced at her mom, then looked at him, lowering her head with a lack of confidence, "Afraid you won’t like me." Ever since she started living with her brother, she realized how outstanding he was. Remembering how he suffered so much to save her made her wish to be excellent like him to deserve her parents’ love.

She wasn’t sure why she felt this way, as she never worried about it when she was with Mom earlier.

Ethan knew the family upheaval had left a shadow in Honey’s heart. Seth understood it, so he managed to comprehend and make choices every time things changed. But Honey was different; she didn’t understand what adults were doing and could only passively accept it, which made her overly anxious.

Ethan and Ruby exchanged a pained glance. They knew such a fear in Honey couldn’t just be soothed away with a few comforting words; only time and life’s mundanities could dissolve this psychological shadow.

Ethan kissed her cheek, coaxing, "Dad will absolutely, absolutely never dislike Honey. Honey is Dad’s sweetest darling, and no matter what happens in the future, that will never change."

Honey leaned into him, counting her chubby fingers, "But Mom’s dad changed and became scary. I worry one day my dad will also become scary." She looked worriedly at Ethan, "Dad, will you?"

"I won’t. Dad will always love Honey and will also love your brother and mom." He answered solemnly.

They never expected that incident would cause Honey such serious psychological harm. After that event, Honey had been in and out of the hospital waiting for surgery. No one thought about having her see a psychologist.

Thinking of this, Ruby couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Because Honey had been pouting, she’d skipped her usual afternoon nap, but now, having talked with Dad, she felt much better and dozed off in Ethan’s arms.

Ethan carefully got up, took her back to her room, and then returned to the living room to sit with Ruby, noticing her worried expression, he held her hand.

"Do you think we should get a psychologist for Honey and Seth? Seth might be mature, but he’s still a child with an immature mind. I’m suddenly worried we might have overlooked something important." She said while unconsciously resting on Ethan’s shoulder, the date made her draw closer to Ethan.

"I’ll arrange it," Ethan thought for a moment, then added, "Let’s bring back that male teacher."

Ruby tilted her head to look at him, teasing, "Someone’s not jealous anymore?"

"Still am, so tone it down." Ethan lowered his eyes to look at her, giving a low warning.

Although they lived together and appeared like ordinary couples, he always remained acutely aware she wasn’t anything to him anymore. If there was any relation, it could only be that of an ex-wife.

Ex-wife... but this identity held no restraint over her.

Curious and puzzled, Ruby asked, "Mr. Sterling, as excellent as you are, why worry about competing against a university lecturer? Is it a lack of faith in me or yourself?"

Ethan stared at her for a good while and finally blurted, "It’s because I care too much about you."

Ruby was once again stunned, her heart skipping giddily—how maddening!