Chapter 44 She Looks Like His Ethan
At the dining table, Antonio took a swig of his black coffee, eyes locked on Ethan.
Ethan sat up straight, munching on his breakfast.
His small frame was stiff, with a frosty vibe.
Even though he was rocking a cream-colored outfit with a big teddy bear print on the chest, it didn’t soften his icy demeanor one bit.
Antonio eyed this 'Harper' and frowned slightly, thinking, 'Is Harper still ticked off at me?'
Antonio mulled it over, set down his coffee cup, and with a rare hint of concern in his voice, asked, "Did it hurt when you took that spill yesterday?"
Ethan's eyes flickered with an unusual light at these words, then he pursed his lips, thinking, 'Come on. Don’t act like you care. You only give a damn about Ryan.'
Seeing that 'Harper' was giving him the cold shoulder, Antonio was almost sure 'Harper' was mad at him.
His tone softened a bit as he asked again, "Or is there something else bugging you?"
Ethan, chewing on bacon, rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not happy about anything."
Sarah, watching the scene unfold, felt a pang in her heart.
Her three kids were like night and day. The eldest, Brian, was steady and always made up her own mind, handling things solo from a young age; the youngest, Harper, was cute and naive; while Ethan, was different, often pretending to be indifferent but actually craving love deep down.
She knew Ethan hated Antonio, mainly because he had never felt fatherly love from him.
Thinking of this, Sarah's eyes filled with pity.
Just then, Antonio looked at her, his eyes darkening.
Noticing Antonio's scrutinizing gaze, Sarah quickly pulled herself together.
Luckily, Antonio didn’t ask anything, just said, "Sit down and have breakfast."
Sarah sat down as suggested, and the table fell silent, making the atmosphere a bit heavy.
Antonio kept sipping his coffee, his gaze bouncing between Sarah and 'Harper' a few times before finally landing on 'Harper's' cold little face. "Harper, if you can pass the third level, I'll throw a bunch of cash your way."
Sarah immediately frowned at this, thinking, 'What does he mean by the third level?'
She glanced at Ethan and saw a sarcastic smile on his lips.
Without even looking up, he coolly said, "Money? I've never been short of that."
Antonio could hear the disdain in his voice. This kid was looking down on him!
Feeling a bit annoyed, Antonio's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his tone got impatient. "Then what do you want? It can't be some weird food again, right?"
He didn’t think 'Harper' would keep helping him willingly, after all, he hadn’t forgotten that she was a "tool for revenge."
Ethan paused, thinking for a moment before saying, "I haven't decided yet. We'll talk about it later."
He then ignored Antonio and kept eating his breakfast.
At that moment, the doorbell rang, and a maid quickly went to answer it.
"Mr. Antonio Valencia, Mr. Ryan Valencia is here!"
The maid led Ryan into the dining room. Today, he was wearing another high-end little suit, but his face was still pale and troubled.
Ryan showed up solo today, not by choice but because Lisa made him.
After the last fiasco, Lisa didn’t dare show her face again, so she sent Ryan, hoping he could win Antonio back and get rid of Harper.
Seeing Ryan, Antonio’s expression softened a lot, and he reached out. "Ryan, come here."
Ryan felt a bit uneasy seeing Sarah there but still ran over to Antonio. "Dad."
Antonio picked up Ryan, responding gently, and then asked, "Why are you here so early? You need to rest more."
Ryan looked super nervous and a bit cautious. "I know, but it’s the weekend. Can you take me to the zoo? I wanna see the big tigers with you."
His voice got smaller as he spoke, his pale little face full of hesitation. In the end, he didn’t dare look at Antonio, lowering his head and forcing himself to finish.
Actually, he didn’t like tigers; he found them pretty scary.
But these were the words Lisa had drilled into him. He had repeated them in his mind all the way there, scared of forgetting a single word and facing her wrath when he got back.
Antonio’s smile faded, and his eyes darkened.
He asked quietly, "Where’s your mom?"
Ryan swallowed nervously and answered as Lisa had instructed, "Mom is sick."
Antonio fell silent, and Ryan watched his face carefully, his little heart pounding.
His palms were sweaty, fearing rejection or that Antonio would see through the lie.
Luckily, Antonio didn’t ask further, just said, "Alright, I’ll take you to the zoo."
Sarah watched coldly from the side, saying nothing. She guessed this was all part of Lisa’s plan.
Lisa’s tactics were crude but effective.
Watching Antonio interact with the boy, Sarah sneered.
Ethan also stopped eating, his little face somber as he looked at Ryan in Antonio’s arms, feeling a sense of loss.
He had never been to the zoo with Antonio.
Ryan, having completed his task, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Glancing at Ethan, he showed concern.
However, Ethan only gave him a cold look, his eyes full of rejection.
At first, Ethan felt sorry for Ryan. But when he found out Ryan was Lisa and Antonio's son, he didn't want to see him anymore!
Ryan was spooked by Ethan’s glare, but after hesitating for a moment, he mustered the courage to ask softly, "Harper, do you wanna come with us?"
"No!" Ethan snapped coldly.
Ryan flinched, too scared to speak.
Ethan’s cold little face showed a hint of anger. "I hate the zoo!"
Sarah felt both helpless and heartbroken.
Ryan, hearing Ethan’s words, turned to Antonio, his eyes full of pleading.
He really liked 'Harper'; she looked a lot like Ethan, who had saved him that day. He wanted to go out and play with her.
Understanding Ryan’s meaning, Antonio said in a deep voice, "Harper will come too. It's a nice day; let's go out and chill."
Ethan instinctively wanted to argue, but Sarah quickly interjected, "Alright, I’ll get ready."
Ethan did want to go, he just couldn’t bring himself to admit it due to pride.
Before Sarah got up, Antonio glanced at her and said, "You come with us too."
Sarah was stunned. She was going too?
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