Chapter 398
Get Lost! You Liar
Wes Mercer let out a heavy sigh and said, "I didn't pretend to be Mr. Sterling. You were the one who misunderstood me as Mr. Sterling from the start. I didn't have time to explain, so the mistake just kept going. I don't want to keep hiding it from you now, which is why I'm telling you this."
Actually, part of the reason was also that Julian Sterling had told him at the time to pretend to be Mr. Sterling, and he was afraid that if he explained, that would expose the whole thing.
Willow Lane's expression twisted.
She had always carried herself as Mr. Sterling's girlfriend, and every time she mocked Claire Bennett. If the man in front of her wasn't Mr. Sterling, then wouldn't everything she had done become a complete joke?
And now he was actually saying that she had been the one who misunderstood from the beginning?
How ridiculous!
The more Willow Lane thought about it, the angrier she became. She simply couldn't forgive it.
"Ruoying, even though this was a misunderstanding, I really do like you. Please forgive me, okay?"
Wes Mercer hadn't actively pretended to be Mr. Sterling. It had started with Willow Lane mistaking him for him, and he was coming clean with complete sincerity, hoping to earn Willow Lane's forgiveness.
"Ha! Forgive you?" Willow Lane ground her teeth, raised her hand, and slapped Wes Mercer hard across the face.
The sharp sound echoed through the car. Wes Mercer felt his cheek burning from the blow.
Willow Lane didn't want to stay with Wes Mercer another second. She yanked open the car door and tried to get out.
Wes Mercer hurriedly grabbed her hand. "Ruoying..."
"Get lost! You liar. Let go of me right now, or I'm calling the police. We're breaking up! Stay the hell away from me from now on!"
When Wes Mercer heard Willow Lane say they were breaking up, his heart twisted in agony. A look of utter despair rose in his eyes, and in the end he could only slowly let go of her hand.
Willow Lane didn't show the slightest bit of attachment. She slammed the door shut and left.
Wes Mercer sat alone in the car, covering his face with both hands as he endured the pain of heartbreak.
Although Willow Lane had been the one to make a move on him first, over the course of their time together, he had gradually fallen for her too.
He had never expected things to end like this between them.
He didn't even know whether telling Willow Lane the truth about his identity had been the right thing to do.
At that moment, Claire Bennett and Julian Sterling were on their way home.
Sitting in the top-of-the-line luxury car, Claire Bennett felt a little curious. She looked around, then glanced at Julian Sterling beside her, focused on driving.
When he had walked over under the umbrella to pick her up just now, it had given her the sudden feeling that the whole world had faded away, leaving only his stunning figure behind.
That feeling of being moved was really hard to describe.
But what shocked her most was how Julian Sterling had come driving such an expensive car.
Claire Bennett pushed down all her thoughts and asked, "Julian Sterling, h-how are you driving a car like this? You scared everyone half to death just now."
After hearing Claire Bennett's words, Julian Sterling's eyes flickered.
Ever since deciding to tell Claire Bennett his real identity, he had felt it would be better to give her some time to adjust first. Otherwise, when the time came, it might be too hard for her to accept.
So he decided to let Claire Bennett get used to things in advance.
The first thing he did was start changing the food, clothes, transportation, and everyday things around him, such as switching out the ordinary car from before for the one he actually drove.
He would slowly start changing the other things too, so Claire Bennett could gradually come to accept it. Then, when he finally told her who he really was, it wouldn't be so hard for her to take.
"Is it strange for me to be driving a car like this?"
Claire Bennett muttered, "It's not that strange. It just feels like, with your status, there's no way you'd be driving a car like this."
Based on what Julian Sterling made as an assistant, even if he worked for several hundred years, he probably still wouldn't be able to afford a car like this.
Very quickly, Claire Bennett came up with an explanation for him.
She suddenly realized something and said, "Ah! I know! Did Mr. Sterling have you be his driver again recently? Is that why you're driving Mr. Sterling's car?"
"...No," Julian Sterling said, sounding slightly helpless.
Claire Bennett said, "Ah! No? Then what's going on? Don't tell me... you stole the car?"
No matter what, there was no way Claire Bennett would believe that Julian Sterling had bought this car himself.
Getting her to believe Julian Sterling had bought the car would be less believable than getting her to believe he'd stolen it.
Hearing Claire Bennett say something so absurd it was both funny and exasperating, Julian Sterling couldn't help laughing.
He said helplessly, "The car wasn't stolen, and it wasn't borrowed either. Figure out the rest yourself."
Julian Sterling felt his hint was already obvious enough.
Claire Bennett should slowly figure it out, right?
But Julian Sterling had imagined things too optimistically. Claire Bennett had no idea what he meant, and she couldn't guess either.
After all, Julian Sterling had already bluffed Claire Bennett so thoroughly those last few times that by now she simply would never suspect that Julian Sterling was Mr. Sterling.
Claire Bennett lowered her lashes slightly, her brows lightly furrowed, as though she had fallen into some unsolved mystery.
It wasn't stolen, and it wasn't borrowed, so where exactly had it come from?
She really couldn't think of it!!
And Julian Sterling was acting all mysterious, clearly refusing to explain any further no matter what.
Claire Bennett's expression suddenly turned extremely serious. She abruptly lifted her head and stared fixedly at Julian Sterling without blinking.
Seeing how serious Claire Bennett looked, Julian Sterling started to feel a little nervous too. Had Claire Bennett figured it out already?
If she discovered it on her own right now, then he would just go ahead and tell her.
Claire Bennett hesitated before speaking. "You..."
"Mm, what do you want to say?"
Claire Bennett hesitated for a long time, wanting to speak but stopping herself, before finally blurting out, "Did you win the lottery? How much did you win? If you have money, you should buy a house first! Not spend it on something flashy and impractical like a car!"
Julian Sterling: "..."