She Wasn't Living with Sean Shaw

After saying that, she ended the call and went to open the door for Julian Sterling.

Outside the detached house, Julian Sterling stared darkly at the house in front of him. So this was Sean Shaw's house?

He had Marcus Reed look into it, and the house really was under Sean Shaw's name.

When Claire Bennett had moved out of Parkview Heights overnight before, this was where she'd come to stay.

Julian Sterling's expression darkened slightly as he opened the car door and got out.

The moment he came in, Claire Bennett walked over holding two outfits. A conflicted look flashed across her face as she asked, "Julian Sterling, which of these two outfits do you think would be better for me to wear to meet your parents?"

Julian Sterling's gaze swept over the two dresses in her hands.

Then he said objectively, "When someone's pretty, anything looks good on them. But if I really had to pick, then the one on the left."

She hadn't expected Julian Sterling to be so good with words. Sweet talk like that really was enough to win people over.

Claire Bennett smiled. "Okay, then the one on the left. Sit for a minute first—I'll go change. I'll be done right away."

Julian Sterling sat on the sofa and quietly looked around at the surroundings.

The detached house looked large, but a bit empty. Other than Claire Bennett, there didn't seem to be anyone else here. It looked like Sean Shaw wasn't here.

Could it be... Sean Shaw didn't live here at all?

Just as Julian Sterling's thoughts were running wild, Claire Bennett had already changed in the bathroom and come out.

The dress on her looked fitted and flattering, outlining her perfect figure to the fullest. With the light makeup on her face, she looked sweet and lovable in a way that made hearts stir.

"Julian Sterling, does it look good?" She spun around once.

"It looks good."

With his approval, Claire Bennett's mood brightened. "Alright, then we can head out now."

Julian Sterling's eyes flickered, and he asked casually, "You're not coming back for dinner tonight—don't you need to tell Sean Shaw?"

Claire Bennett looked utterly baffled when she heard that. "Why would I have to tell Sean?"

She was an adult already, wasn't she? She didn't need to report everything she did.

Seeing the puzzled look all over Claire Bennett's face, Julian Sterling said bluntly, "Since you're living with Sean Shaw, shouldn't you say something?"

"What?" Claire Bennett looked even more confused. She said, "Sean doesn't live here. He already went back to New York a long time ago."

Julian Sterling had asked on purpose to test her, but he hadn't expected the result to surprise him.

Claire Bennett was not living with Sean Shaw!

That piece of news practically made him wild with joy. If he weren't restrained enough, he probably would have laughed out loud on the spot.

Julian Sterling suppressed the delight in his heart, stepped forward, picked up the shopping bags from the floor, and said softly, "Let's go."

The two of them went together to the apartment building from yesterday.

After going in, Claire Bennett saw a young woman sitting with Julian Sterling's father and mother, and the three of them were chatting and laughing together.

It looked like this girl was Julian Sterling's younger sister.

The girl looked quite young, with delicate features, but she wasn't nearly as strikingly good-looking as Julian Sterling. It really made one sigh—born to the same parents, yet the difference was so huge.

When Julian's mother saw Claire Bennett, she immediately waved to her. "Claire, you're here. Come sit down quickly."

Claire Bennett took a deep breath and forced herself to say, "Mother-in-law, these are for you all. I hope you won't dislike them."

After saying that, she handed over the things in her hands.

She still couldn't bring herself to use the word Mom and Dad. Calling her mother-in-law that had already used up all her courage.

Julian's mother smiled and quickly said, "You're coming back to your own home—why did you spend so much money buying all this stuff?"

That phrase, your own home, together with the kind attitudes of Julian's father and mother, immediately erased the sense of distance Claire Bennett had felt.

After speaking, Julian's mother softly said to the girl beside her, "Kelsey, help Claire bring those things inside and put them away."

The girl sitting beside Julian's mother was Kelsey Lee, the daughter of Old Lee, the Sterling family's driver. Claire Bennett knew Ruby Sterling's identity, so their real younger daughter naturally couldn't appear.

So they could only find someone else to come and impersonate her.

As it happened, Old Lee's daughter Kelsey Lee was about the same age as Ruby Sterling, so it wouldn't be easy for anyone to see through the act.

From the moment the girl had seen Claire Bennett just now, a look of covert scrutiny had appeared in her eyes, and she'd sized Claire Bennett up from head to toe.

She let out a light snort in her heart.

Claire Bennett did look very pretty. That was probably what had attracted Julian Sterling. But Julian Sterling hadn't told her his real identity, which meant he clearly didn't trust her and probably thought she was a materialistic woman.

Kelsey Lee had studied overseas and even had a master's degree. On top of that, she was fairly pretty, so she had a certain pride about her.

Because her father worked for the Sterling family, she had known Julian Sterling since childhood.

From a young age, Kelsey Lee had always worked toward the position by Julian Sterling's side. She studied hard and improved herself seriously, all because she wanted to become the best person possible.

Who would have thought that before she could become Julian Sterling's girlfriend, Claire Bennett would suddenly appear out of nowhere and cut in?

Because of that, she had been heartbroken for a long time.

But last night, Julian's mother had suddenly come to her and told her that Julian Sterling and Claire Bennett were getting divorced, that they wanted her help, and that she should pretend to be Julian Sterling's younger sister.

At that moment, she was overjoyed. If Julian Sterling and Claire Bennett divorced, then wouldn't her chance have come?

So she had immediately agreed to Julian's mother's request.

Kelsey Lee quickly suppressed the thoughts in her heart. With a sweet smile on her face, she said familiarly, "Okay, Mom."

With that, she walked forward and took the gifts from Claire Bennett's hands.

Claire Bennett handed the things over, but for some reason, she felt that Kelsey Lee's gaze was somewhat uncomfortable.

The way she looked at her seemed full of wariness and hostility. It wasn't very obvious, but Claire Bennett was observant.

Claire Bennett, broad-minded as she was, didn't take it to heart. She figured maybe it was because this was Julian Sterling's sister's first time meeting her, and she still didn't know her very well, so that was why.

Before she could think more about it, Julian's mother was already warmly ushering her over and pulling her to sit down beside her. "Claire, come sit down quickly."