Chapter 92: Personal Problems

The next morning, Cole left after having breakfast with them. He had only come for a visit, not an extended stay.

They all saw him off to the gates before separating. While Cole made his way back to his house in another city, Ethan drove his family back to their shop.

Just as usual, Cassandra was already around. Evelyn immediately thanked her for helping with the purchase of fruits yesterday, but the young lady brushed it off as nothing.

With that settled, everything immediately fell into place. Cassandra and Evelyn sat at the counter, attending to customers who approached the shop. Nora and Ethan stayed inside, with the father tutoring his daughter.

Since Nora now had something—the iPad—to look up to after studying, she was very motivated to learn. Other than mathematics which was her most troublesome subject, she had little to no issues with the others.

Ethan smiled, watching her write down answers to the questions he had given her. His phone buzzed in his pocket, so he took it out and checked.

Lucas had just sent him a message, asking if they could meet up at a restaurant nearby.

’The employee departs and the boss arrives.’

Humming, he replied to him, saying he would be there in an hour.

After that, he focused on grading the small test he had given her. She passed, which earned her a pat on the head and a chocolate bar. That didn’t end their lesson, though. He continued teaching Nora a few other things until it was almost time to go meet up with Lucas.

Handing the iPad to Nora, he said, "You can use it until I return. After that, you should get some sleep. Alright?"

She nodded, a bright smile on her face. "I understand, Dad."

Ethan patted her head and then walked to the entrance. Evelyn turned to him, wondering where he was going.

"I’m going to see Lucas nearby. I’ll be back in an hour."

Evelyn pouted and hugged him tightly, seemingly unwilling to let him go.

"You’re not cheating on me with Lucas, right?" She asked in a sulky tone.

Ethan stared at her, aghast. "What nonsense are you saying? Do you want me to prove to you how straight I am?"

"Eek!" Evelyn squeaked and struggled to escape from his embrace. However, she couldn’t.

He planted a kiss on her head and released her. She glared at him, her cheeks puffed cutely. Ethan smiled and poked her cheek before turning around.

"See ya. Cassandra, you take care too."

"Come back safely, sir!" The young lady replied enthusiastically.

Leaving them behind, Ethan got on his bike and zoomed off. He headed toward the location Lucas had given and eventually stopped before a fancy restaurant in the middle of the city.

Seeing the familiar black limousine parked outside, he confirmed that he was in the right place and went inside.

A waiter approached him, wearing a polite smile. "Welcome, please take a seat and I can take your order."

Ethan shook his head. "I’m here to see someone. A reservation in the private rooms?"

The waiter scanned him from head to toe, an imperceptible frown crossing his face.

"Give me a second." He quickly took out the tablet and checked. "What is your name, sir?"

"Ethan Hale," Ethan replied.

"Oh..." The waiter blinked in realization, then said, "This way."

Ethan followed him upstairs, and they finally stopped before a private room. The waiter knocked twice.

With a sharp click, the door was opened from the inside. The waiter bowed and said, "Sir Stark, I have brought your guest."

Lucas replied, "Oh, thank you. Brother Ethan, please come inside."

Ethan entered the room while the waiter retreated.

Turning, he saw the familiar secretary closing the door behind him. He waved at her, then sat opposite Lucas.

"This seems serious, so let’s get straight to the point. Did something happen?"

Lucas nodded, a dark shadow on his face. "As expected, when Samuel Wayne realized that Yin and Yang Games had been bought and had been restricted from partnering his Mobos Game Company, he immediately called me and started yelling threats like a wild animal. Pfft, it was comedic."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. "So what did you do?"

"What else?" Lucas laughed lightly. "I told him to fuck off and that I wasn’t interested in partnering with him. He was pretty angry, but he blabbered about his family’s influence, then ended the call minutes later."

"Oh, I see..." Ethan nodded. "So you’re worried his family would get involved and retaliate."

Lucas nodded, his smile gone. "If the entire Wayne family gets involved, I won’t be able to do anything against them. Heck, Stark Industries might collapse."

Humming, Ethan agreed with him. "That’s true. But you don’t have to fear them for now."

Lucas blinked. "I don’t?"

"Yeah," Ethan said with a nod. "Samuel is a very prideful person and would not reach out to his family unless the situation is really severe. The loss of two small companies isn’t that big to him, so he won’t call them."

Lucas sighed in relief, wiping the sweat on his forehead.

"Phew. I’m greatly relieved when you say that, Brother Ethan. I was very worried, but I guess I don’t have to worry about them anymore."

"That doesn’t mean you should be reckless, though," Ethan warned him. "Don’t test Samuel’s temper. He can be very irrational sometimes. Just ignore his calls and continue using the two companies."

Lucas nodded, taking the advice to heart.

Smiling, Ethan looked at the simple food served on the table and said, "Looks like you’re finally understanding the blissfulness of mundanity."

Lucas chuckled, picking up his knife and fork. "Well, I have to pick up a thing or two from my mentor, no?"

Ethan smiled and did the same. "That’s a nice way to say you plagiarized a thing or two."

"What?" Lucas laughed. "Is eating something simple copyrighted?"

Ethan nodded. "Yeah. By the way, is that all?"

Lucas paused. "Hm? What’s that?"

"Is that all that is bothering you?" Ethan asked, his expression serious.

Lucas slowly lost his smile and lowered his head. "Actually, no. There’s another problem."

"What’s that?" Ethan asked softly.

Sighing, Lucas replied, "My wife wants to file a divorce."