Chapter 213
Sister-in-Law Doesn't Seem to Like Me Very Much
Soon, the few of them sat down together to eat.
During the meal, Claire Bennett seemed rather quiet. Her father had taught her table manners since she was little, and although she had been away from the Bennett family for many years, she had never forgotten those habits.
When it was just the two of her and Julian Sterling, she wasn't so particular, but with elders present, she became much more careful.
By contrast, Kelsey Lee beside her seemed much livelier and more interesting than Claire Bennett. She kept praising Julian's mother and constantly asked about amusing stories from their travels abroad.
Julian's mother didn't mind at all; instead, she spoke with great enthusiasm.
Kelsey Lee secretly felt pleased with herself. It looked like Claire Bennett was just a block of wood, nowhere near as good as her at winning Auntie Sterling's favor.
Surely Auntie Sterling also knew in her heart who was more suitable to be her daughter-in-law!
After the meal, the group sat together on the sofa and chatted.
Kelsey Lee's eyes shifted, a calculating look flashing through them.
She found an opening and said to Claire Bennett, "Tomorrow is Sunday, so Sister-in-Law should have time, right? I want to go to a girls' gathering organized by Miss Lewis. Do you want to come with me?"
Julian's mother remembered that Kelsey Lee had asked her for the invitation today. She thought it would be good to let Claire Bennett go along and see the world a little, so she smiled and said, "Claire, go with Kelsey and have a look."
The smile at Claire Bennett's lips did not change, but she looked at Kelsey Lee with cold eyes.
If Kelsey Lee hadn't said those things just now, Claire Bennett might have thought she was sincerely inviting her, but after what she had said, the invitation now seemed especially purposeful.
She smiled and directly declined. "Sorry, I have something important to do tomorrow, so I can't go with you."
Hearing that, a wronged expression suddenly appeared on Kelsey Lee's face.
She said in a disappointed whisper, "Are you mad at me? If I said something bad just now, don't take it to heart. I just got back from abroad, and maybe people overseas are more direct and don't beat around the bush. How about I apologize to you?"
Looking at Kelsey Lee's fake act, Claire Bennett wanted nothing more than to slap her. She probably knew that Claire wouldn't dare bring up their divorce in front of Julian Sterling's parents.
That was why she was being so brazen, telling her not to take it to heart, wasn't it?
And what was that about people overseas being more direct?
No matter how direct they were, they wouldn't tell someone to get divorced immediately right to their face!
If she said, just to save face, that she wouldn't hold it against Kelsey Lee, wouldn't that be suffocatingly unfair?
That was indeed the mindset Kelsey Lee had.
She assumed Claire Bennett wouldn't dare say anything and could only swallow this insult.
After such a brief exchange, she felt Claire Bennett was completely no match for her. Kelsey Lee felt smug, and the look she gave Claire Bennett carried contempt and mockery.
Julian's mother had been busy in the kitchen just now and didn't know what had happened outside between Claire Bennett and Kelsey Lee. Hearing this, she asked curiously,
"Kelsey, what do you mean by that? What happened between you and Claire just now? Did you two argue?"
Seeing everyone look toward her, Kelsey Lee's expression became even more aggrieved. She said pitifully, "Maybe I'm just not good at getting along with people. Sister-in-Law doesn't seem to like me very much."
What she actually wanted was to create the impression that Claire Bennett looked down on her. After all, this was her own home, and Claire Bennett didn't know Julian Sterling's identity. This wasn't some mansion of the Sterling family.
If Julian's mother found out Claire Bennett disliked her, she definitely wouldn't like Claire Bennett.
Unexpectedly, however, Julian's mother didn't quite believe Claire Bennett would say something like that.
She quickly patted Kelsey Lee's hand and said, "How could that be? Claire shouldn't be like that. Did you misunderstand?"
"But..." Kelsey Lee still wanted to say something.
Suddenly, Claire Bennett let out a cold laugh.
She looked at Kelsey Lee with cool eyes and said, "Since you're insisting on saying I don't like you, then fine, I don't like you. But there is one thing you got right—you really don't know how to get along with people. Looks like you need to learn a lot more about how to conduct yourself."
Originally, Kelsey Lee had thought Claire Bennett would endure it and not dare speak.
She hadn't expected her to snap back directly. Didn't that basically mean she was saying Kelsey Lee didn't know how to behave like a decent person?
At once, she was so angry her face turned pale.
What made her feel like coughing up blood most was that she had thought once Claire Bennett retorted like that, Julian's father and mother would definitely think she had no manners. Yet the two of them had no particular reaction.
Instead, Julian's mother smiled and said, "Kelsey, Claire's personality really is like..."
She had originally wanted to say Ruby Sterling's name, but just as the words reached her lips, she realized something was off. After pausing, she quickly changed it to, "It really is as Julian said—frank and genuine!"
Kelsey Lee was so angry her hands clenched tightly, yet she didn't dare argue.
Julian's mother did not notice anything unusual about her. She smiled and asked, "Kelsey, you think so too, right?"
Hearing Julian's mother, Kelsey Lee could only force herself to smile along. "Yeah..."
In the end, Kelsey Lee failed to make Julian's mother dislike Claire Bennett, failed to anger Claire Bennett, and instead left herself with a stomach full of rage with nowhere to vent it.
When it was about time, Claire Bennett stood up and said goodbye to Julian's mother, and Julian Sterling stepped forward, took her hand, and left with her.
Watching the two of them disappear from sight, Kelsey Lee gritted her teeth hatefully.
After Julian's mother and father left the Lee house and returned to the Sterling residence, Old Lee and Mrs. Lee came back, and Mrs. Lee couldn't help pulling Kelsey Lee aside to ask about what had happened today.
The two of them slipped into the room behind Old Lee's back.
"Kelsey, how did it go? Did Mrs. Sterling and the others praise you? That woman by the eldest young master's side couldn't compare to you, right?"