She Had to Stand Guard

He... chose to believe Claire.

Julian took a deep breath and turned to walk into the hospital room.

Seeing how at ease Julian seemed, Ruby had no choice and could only follow him into the room.

The VIP private room was fairly spacious. Although it felt a little crowded after several people squeezed in, it could still accommodate that many people.

By the hospital bed, Mrs. Sterling was sitting in a chair.

She looked at Mr. Sterling, guilt on her face, and said softly, "Old man, how are you feeling? Are you still uncomfortable anywhere?"

Hearing Mrs. Sterling's words, Mr. Sterling gave a cold snort. "Hmph... I'm not dead yet!"

Mrs. Sterling knew Mr. Sterling's rotten temper. The fact that he could still get angry meant his body was basically fine, so she was relieved.

At that moment, Hazel Lewis caught sight of Julian and Ruby walking in from the corner of her eye.

There was no one behind them anymore. Claire had not come in with them.

A suspicious look appeared in her eyes. Could it be that Claire wasn't planning to come in to visit at all?

A calculating look flashed through Hazel's eyes. She raised her head and looked toward Julian, as if only just noticing that Claire wasn't there, and asked in confusion, "Where's Claire Bennett? Didn't she come in to see Mr. Sterling?"

Hearing that, Mr. Sterling lifted his eyes and looked toward Julian.

He had already been very angry about the things Julian had done. Now, upon learning that Claire had come to the hospital but had not come in to visit him, he grew even angrier inside.

He said coldly, "I don't need a woman that heartless coming to visit me. She'd only piss me to death!"

When Ruby heard Hazel say that, she couldn't help clenching her fists and snapping back angrily, "Hazel Lewis, what do you mean by that?

She said coldly, "Claire knew Grandpa didn't like her, so she consciously chose not to come in, so Grandpa wouldn't be provoked into another episode. Are you trying to say she's cold and heartless now? Claire is not that kind of person. Before she left just now, she even asked me to pass along her concern for Grandpa."

Hearing that, Hazel put on an innocent expression and shook her head. "I didn't. Miss Sterling, did you misunderstand something?"

Ruby snorted inwardly. Whether it was a misunderstanding or not, she knew best.

She had seen more than one white lotus like Hazel. One glance was enough for her to tell exactly what she meant.

"Whether I misunderstood or not, you know perfectly well. Stop putting on an act in front of me. My brother is not going to be fooled by you!"

Seeing that the two of them were about to start arguing in the hospital room, Mrs. Sterling barked, "Enough. Stop arguing. If you want to fight, go outside and do it. Don't affect the old man's recovery."

Hearing that, the two of them finally shut up at the same time, looking awkward.

Ruby still felt somewhat unwilling and could only shoot Hazel an unhappy glare.

This woman wanted to steal her sister-in-law's man. Now that Claire wasn't here, she had to stand guard!

After they finished visiting Mr. Sterling, the group finally left one after another.

Julian was just about to leave when Hazel called out to him, "Mr. Sterling, please wait."

With a faint smile on her face, she walked toward Julian. "Can we talk?"

"I don't have time to chat idly with a stranger," Julian refused coldly.

When Hazel heard him call her a stranger, the smile on her face almost slipped, but her mental composure was strong enough that she adjusted herself very quickly.

"Mr. Sterling, Mr. Sterling has already agreed to a marriage alliance between our two families. I think we still need to have an open and honest talk. After all, we won't be strangers anymore in the future."

After saying that, Hazel curled her lips into a faint smile, looking extremely considerate and polite.

Julian frowned slightly, a trace of coldness spilling from his eyes.

Was this woman planning to demand a status from him?

With one hand in his pocket, he simply looked at Hazel coldly and said, "We'll talk right here. What does Miss Lewis want to say?"

"Mr. Sterling, because of my matter, Mr. Sterling suffered this undeserved grievance, and I truly feel a little bad about it. Actually, our side didn't handle things well. We should have told you in advance. That way, this conflict wouldn't have happened so suddenly."

Hazel was very good at reading people's hearts. The words she spoke directly took the blame onto herself.

If it were an ordinary person, having angered a family member into collapsing because of themselves, burdened with guilt and regret, then upon hearing such comforting words, they would probably feel that the woman before them was understanding and thoughtful, and be deeply moved because of it.

But Julian was not an ordinary man.

He had always known what he wanted, and he had long been used to freedom. He did not like having his marriage arranged by his family.

Julian let out a cold laugh and said, "If Miss Lewis truly feels sorry, then appear less often in front of me and Grandpa in the future. That way, maybe what happened today won't happen again."

Hazel had originally been waiting for Julian to tell her it was fine. She had never expected this answer instead.

Her expression turned visibly ugly, and for a moment she didn't even know how to react.

Everything Julian did was always outside her expectations.

He really wasn't giving her any face at all!

Could it be that with her family background, education, and looks, she still couldn't compare to Claire Bennett, a woman who had nothing?