Chapter 383
Seems Like He's a Little
After they left, the more Claire Bennett thought about it, the more something felt off. Just now, Julian Sterling and Zane Cole had both been acting strange. Zane had seemed to be deliberately going head-to-head with Julian.
From the moment Julian showed up, Zane hadn't properly looked at him once, and he had even ordered such an expensive set meal on purpose just to make Julian pay for it.
She asked in confusion, "Darling, did you feel like Zane was kind of hostile toward you just now?"
Julian Sterling glanced at Claire Bennett. Some things were better left unknown to her.
He said casually, "Maybe he doesn't feel comfortable with you being with me, so he wanted to test me a little."
Claire Bennett froze for a moment, suddenly not knowing what to say.
While she was touched, she also felt that Zane's way of testing him was really a little inappropriate. How could someone knowingly force a person to pay for something that expensive when they clearly couldn't afford it?
But considering that Zane meant well, Claire Bennett decided not to hold it against him too much.
Because of her grandmother, Claire Bennett was staying in New York for now and still hadn't decided when to return to Chicago, so she was relatively free at the moment.
She looked at Julian Sterling and asked, "Let's go back to Chicago tomorrow. The designers on Nia's side should already have started working, but I just found Sienna Shaw to work with me, and we have fewer people than they do, so we need to make the most of our time."
"Mm, whatever you want." Julian Sterling nodded obediently, clearly having no objection.
Suddenly, Claire Bennett thought of something.
She asked, "Before we go back, do you want to go see your grandfather and grandmother? After all, your grandfather didn't seem to be in very good health last time. Since you're already in New York, you should visit him."
After hearing that, Julian Sterling's brows knit tightly, and a trace of hesitation flashed across his face.
Right now, Old Mr. Sterling and Old Mrs. Sterling were at the Sterling estate. If he took Claire Bennett there, his identity would definitely be exposed.
When Claire Bennett saw the hesitation on Julian Sterling's face, she thought it was because of her.
She knew Grandpa Sterling didn't like her. The granddaughter-in-law he wanted in his heart was Hazel Lewis.
Claire Bennett said considerately, "If... it's not convenient for me to go, then you can go by yourself. I'll wait for you back at the apartment."
Just as she finished speaking, Julian Sterling's phone suddenly rang.
He motioned for Claire Bennett to wait, then took out his phone.
The call was from Old Mr. Sterling.
Julian Sterling looked at the phone for two seconds, then finally answered it.
The moment he picked up, an angry roar came from the other end. "You little brat! I heard you came to New York? You came to New York and still didn't come see this old man? Are you planning to cut ties with me?"
Julian Sterling replied helplessly, "No, Grandpa. You're overthinking it."
"Hmph! I knew you were heartless. You get yourself a wife and forget your family."
Julian Sterling glanced at Song Xiaokai as if nothing were wrong, then said, "Grandpa, I came to New York with Claire. Just now, Claire even suggested coming to visit you. She was just worried you might be unhappy."
Old Mr. Sterling snorted unhappily. "So you're afraid I'll make things difficult for her, and that's why you're deliberately avoiding me?"
Julian Sterling said nothing, which was as good as admitting it by default.
"Hmph! Fine, then don't come. Just hold your wife and spend the rest of your life with her."
Hearing that, Julian Sterling didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Originally, he fully intended to hold his wife and spend the rest of his life with her.
When Old Mr. Sterling heard that Julian Sterling wasn't saying anything, he angrily hung up the phone.
Although Claire Bennett hadn't heard Old Mr. Sterling's words, she had heard what Julian Sterling said, and she could more or less guess what had happened.
She asked, "Was that your grandfather calling?"
Julian Sterling didn't want to put too much pressure on Claire Bennett, so he said, "Mm. He knows I came to New York."
After hearing that, Claire Bennett fell silent.
She had known that after Julian Sterling came to New York, if he didn't go visit Grandpa Sterling, he would definitely have an issue with it, which was why she had suggested that Julian go just now.
In the end, it was still because of her that Julian Sterling's relationship with Grandpa Sterling had worsened.
Claire Bennett felt miserable inside.
When Julian Sterling saw Claire Bennett's mood sink, he guessed what she was thinking and comforted her, saying, "Don't think too much. Grandpa isn't blaming you. It's all because of me, so you don't need to take it to heart."
Hearing Julian Sterling say that, Claire Bennett felt even more
After hesitating for a moment, she lifted her eyes to Julian Sterling and said, "How about we go visit Grandpa and Grandma?"
Although Grandpa Sterling might not look happy to see her, Claire Bennett didn't want Julian Sterling to become an unfilial person because of her.
"Claire." Seeing that Claire Bennett would rather suffer a grievance for his sake, Julian Sterling felt deeply moved, and at the same time his heart ached for how much she had endured. It also made him even more determined to convince Grandpa to accept Claire Bennett.
But... he had just avoided Zane Cole's attempt to expose his identity, and now if he took Claire Bennett back to the Sterling family home, wouldn't that reveal everything?
Julian Sterling pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling that he was facing an impossible choice.