Not Appreciative at All

Claire Bennett set down her sketchbook and planned to go cook. She turned and went into the kitchen, starting to prepare tonight's dinner.

Julian Sterling looked at her back with bafflement, his brows knitting slightly.

He complimented her and she was still unhappy?

Marcus Reed and the others would usually grin all day if they got a "not bad" from him.

Claire Bennett's cooking skills were superb. After she started the rice, she busied herself chopping vegetables, handling everything with ease even by herself.

After the first dish was done, just as she was about to carry it out, Julian Sterling walked in, reached out, and took the initiative to help. "I'll take it out."

Seeing him help out, a faint curve appeared at the corners of Claire Bennett's lips, and the gloomy mood from earlier instantly vanished.

He was just a little too much of a straight man, that was all—he just didn't know how to compliment people.

At the dining table, the two sat facing each other. The atmosphere was quiet and warm, as if they were an old married couple who had been together for years.

Since she didn't know Julian Sterling's tastes, Claire Bennett had made two extra dishes tonight.

Stir-fried pork with green peppers, stir-fried celery, scrambled eggs with tomatoes—three dishes and a soup was more than enough for the two of them.

Julian Sterling's gaze landed on the stir-fried pork with green peppers in front of him. His handsome brows furrowed lightly, then quickly relaxed again.

He picked up the green peppers and deliberately placed them in Claire Bennett's bowl.

"Thanks." Claire Bennett was a little surprised.

She hadn't expected Julian Sterling to voluntarily serve her food, and she felt a little flattered.

But very soon, Claire Bennett realized she had been reading too much into it.

The reason Julian Sterling was putting food in her bowl seemed to be that he didn't like green peppers!

Whenever he picked food up, he avoided the green peppers completely, not touching them at all.

Claire Bennett was silent for a moment, then ruthlessly exposed him. "You put those green peppers in my bowl just now because you don't like them yourself, right?"

There was provocation in the way she looked at him, as if saying: Stop pretending. You only gave them to me because you don't like them.

"Green peppers are rich in vitamin C. They can promote fat metabolism and help lower fat and reduce weight," Julian Sterling said without changing expression.

Was he saying she was fat?

Seeing Claire Bennett's unhappy expression, Julian Sterling finally remembered that Ruby Sterling had once said that calling a girl fat in front of her was rude.

He added, "You have a great figure. Eating green peppers can help you keep it that way, so eat a little more."

Listening to his twisted logic, Claire Bennett let out a cold laugh. She picked up a heaping chopstickful of green peppers and dropped them into Julian Sterling's bowl.

"You're right. Eating more green peppers is good for you. You should eat more too." Let's see you keep denying it now!

Julian Sterling: "..."

Claire Bennett just smiled at him like that. Looking at the huge pile of green peppers in his bowl, Julian Sterling's brows knitted tightly enough to crush a mosquito.

In the end, he took a deep breath, picked up the green peppers from his bowl, and ate every last one.

After dinner, afraid Julian Sterling might break another bowl, Claire Bennett proactively got up and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

When she finished up and came out of the kitchen, Julian Sterling was sitting on the sofa looking at his phone. When he was quiet, he seemed especially refined and aloof, giving off a feeling that made people not dare approach him.

He lifted his eyes to look at her and said, "Let's talk."

"What do you want to talk about?" Claire Bennett walked over suspiciously and sat down beside him.

Julian Sterling was silent for a moment, then asked, "You dated Ethan Sterling for three years?"

Claire Bennett didn't hide it. She nodded and said, "Yeah, we dated for three years."

Julian Sterling gave a derisive laugh, mockery showing in his eyes. "Three years before you figured out he was a scumbag? Your judgment is really awful."

She had thought Julian Sterling wanted to chat with her, but instead he opened with ridicule.

Did he eat poison or something?

Claire Bennett said irritably, "That's because I didn't know before. Now that I do, I've already stayed away from him!"

Stayed away from Ethan Sterling?

Julian Sterling snorted inwardly. If she had really stayed away, she wouldn't have gone to Sterling International to find him today. She'd even made such a scene the entire company knew about it, and she wasn't even embarrassed.

When Claire Bennett saw the look of disdain on his face, he seemed not to believe her.

Feeling a little indignant, she said unhappily, "Isn't it normal to run into one or two scumbags when you're dating? What about you? Haven't you had any ex-girlfriends? Are you telling me things ended well with all of them?"

Since Julian Sterling wasn't with any ex now, that proved they'd split up for some unknown reason, so he had no right to laugh at her either.

Julian Sterling said in complete seriousness, "No."

Every word Claire Bennett had been about to say got stuck in her throat.

She looked at Julian Sterling suspiciously. "Liar! How could you possibly not have had a girlfriend?"

Even though Julian Sterling was just a driver for hire, and an orphan too, with a family background that wasn't much to speak of, he had other things that made up for it.

For example, his looks were first-rate—even better-looking than Ethan Sterling—and he was gentlemanly too. How could he possibly have never dated a girlfriend?

If he really had never dated before, then either something was wrong physically or something was wrong psychologically.

Physically... based on what she'd seen, that didn't seem likely. So was it psychological?

Could it be that he actually liked men?

Claire Bennett suddenly realized she might have figured out the reason Julian Sterling had impulsively married her!

Julian Sterling looked at the suspicious gaze that a certain woman had fixed on him, frowned in displeasure, and said coldly, "What are you looking at?"

Claire Bennett said with a serious expression, "Don't worry. As long as you pretend to be Julian Sterling and go with me to Ethan Sterling's engagement party when the time comes, I'll cover for you properly the rest of the time."