Chapter 489
The Black-Hearted White Lotus
Everyone turned to look and saw Claire Bennett slowly walking downstairs. Her face was still a little pale, and her voice carried a slight rasp, clearly from choking on water just now.
When Megan Sterling saw Claire Bennett appear, a dark look flashed through her eyes.
Claire Bennett slowly walked over and looked at Megan Sterling as she said coldly, "Although I don't know why you're falsely accusing me of pushing you into the water, I didn't do that. The innocent will prove themselves innocent. I don't want to explain too much, and it looks like I won't be able to eat this meal after all."
After saying that, Claire Bennett turned and left.
"Sister-in-law..." Ruby Sterling hurriedly called after Claire Bennett, but Claire Bennett didn't turn her head even once.
When Julian Sterling saw Claire Bennett leave, he immediately stood up and chased after her.
Old Master Sterling hadn't expected Julian Sterling to care so much about Claire Bennett that he would actually chase after her as she left, and he rebuked furiously, "Julian Sterling, where are you going? Get back here right now!"
However, the only response he got was the sound of Julian Sterling closing the door.
After Claire Bennett left the house, she quickly walked outside. Julian Sterling had brought her here, and now if she wanted to leave, she could only walk farther out and hope to find a cab.
Thinking about how Julian Sterling had actually not believed her made Claire Bennett feel wronged.
Megan Sterling could falsely accuse her however she wanted, but Julian Sterling not believing her was a huge blow to her.
"Claire." Julian Sterling caught up and grabbed Claire Bennett's hand.
"What are you following me for? Dinner's about to start. You should go back," Claire Bennett said coolly.
Julian Sterling sighed helplessly and said, "Don't be angry. Come back with me first, and let me handle this, okay?"
"Handle it how? You believe that I pushed Megan Sterling in. If I go back, it'll just be to accept punishment. I will never admit to something I didn't do."
Julian Sterling's brows drew tightly together. He hadn't expected Claire Bennett not to believe he could handle this matter properly.
Was that the kind of person he was in Claire Bennett's eyes?
Although he hadn't believed Claire Bennett when she said Megan Sterling had pushed her into the water, he still wouldn't just stand by and watch Claire Bennett be punished.
And if she left like this now, it would be the same as tacitly admitting that she'd done it. It would only make Grandpa even angrier and make their relationship worse, so he had hoped Claire Bennett would go back with him and explain everything clearly.
He hadn't expected Claire Bennett to lose her temper and actually refuse.
After saying that with reddened eyes, Claire Bennett shoved Julian Sterling away and turned to leave at once.
She had thought that the only thing standing between her and Julian Sterling was the issue with his mother. She hadn't expected the first major test of trust between them to end in such a miserable failure.
Actually, from Julian Sterling's perspective, he hadn't really done anything wrong. After all, Megan Sterling was his real family, while she was only the wife he'd registered with because of an accident.
Come to think of it, they were the real family, and she was just an outsider.
What right did she have to ask for Julian Sterling's protection?
The more Claire Bennett thought about it, the worse she felt. Right now, she only wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible and didn't want to stay any longer.
Seeing this, Julian Sterling quickly reached out to pull her back. Helplessness showed in his eyes. "Claire, don't go yet."
Claire Bennett thought he was trying to drag her back to apologize. She had always been the kind of person who refused to admit defeat, and there was no way she was going to admit fault!
She immediately dodged Julian Sterling's hand. Seeing how resistant Claire Bennett was, Julian Sterling's heart sank.
He had originally wanted to explain things to Claire Bennett, but Claire Bennett was immersed in her own emotions and wasn't listening to any of his explanations at all.
"I'm not going back, so stop talking about it."
"I'm not asking you to go back. If you want to leave, that's fine. I'll take you home," Julian Sterling said softly.
Claire Bennett had still been angry at first, but seeing how helpless Julian Sterling looked, she knew she had gone a little too far too. What she was angry about was Julian Sterling not believing her. In truth, the main blame for this matter didn't lie with Julian Sterling, but with that Megan Sterling.
In the end, she still nodded and said, "Okay."
Julian Sterling took Claire Bennett's hand and led her away from the Sterling family home.
...
At this moment, in the Sterling family living room.
Old Master Sterling had a dark expression as he asked, "Where's Julian?"
The moment Julian Sterling chased after Claire Bennett, he had immediately sent a servant after them. Since that woman was so shameless, there was no need for her to stay any longer, but he would not allow Julian Sterling to leave with her.
The servant said tremblingly beside Old Master Sterling, "Sir, Young Master Julian... he... he left with Miss Song."
Julian Sterling had still left after all, and Old Master Sterling's expression grew even uglier.
When Megan Sterling heard this, she lowered her eyes slightly, and a gloomy look appeared in them.
Meanwhile, Ruby Sterling felt much better. Her brother really hadn't let her down. If he had truly let Claire leave alone, then she really would have looked down on him.
"Oh, I'm hungry. Let's eat."