Chapter 524
I Will Do as You Wish and Separate from Claire Bennett
"Enough. Stop talking."
Old Mr. Sterling lifted his eyes and looked at Julian Sterling, then said, "Julian Sterling, at this point I can't be bothered to keep digging into who's right and who's wrong in this matter. I'll just ask you one thing: how are you going to handle Claire Bennett?"
What the Sterling family had just said only deepened his disappointment in Julian Sterling.
Ever since Julian Sterling was little, he had been especially fond of him. Even when Julian Sterling's parents were raising him in Chicago, he worried they would spoil him, so he often had him come live in New York and hired the best teachers to teach him.
Later, Julian Sterling did not disappoint him. He showed astonishing talent, along with exceptional intelligence.
He had become more and more satisfied with him, planning to cultivate him carefully in the future and then place the Sterling family in his hands.
Everything had originally been going so smoothly. Who would have thought it would all fall apart over Julian Sterling's future? Ever since he met Claire Bennett, everything had changed.
"Julian Sterling, let me make myself clear today: I will never accept that woman. How exactly are you going to choose? Tell me right now."
Old Mr. Sterling was giving Julian Sterling a chance. If he chose Claire Bennett, then he would have no chance with the Sterling family in the future.
He would rather hand the Sterling family over to someone else in the family than leave it to Julian Sterling.
It seemed that because of Claire Bennett, Old Mr. Sterling was completely disappointed in him and would no longer continue favoring Julian Sterling.
The people who had just spoken badly about Julian Sterling had thought Old Mr. Sterling would reject him from now on, but unexpectedly he was still giving Julian Sterling a chance now. It was infuriating.
Still, none of them dared say anything more, lest Old Mr. Sterling take his anger out on them.
When Claire Bennett heard Old Mr. Sterling's words, her heart suddenly jolted.
She knew what he meant: he was actually making Julian Sterling choose one or the other between her and the Sterling family.
Actually, she didn't want Julian Sterling to turn against the Sterling family because of her. After all, his last name was Sterling. The Sterling family was his support and his backing. If he didn't have the Sterling family behind him, then he would keep running into setbacks at work in the future.
But if Julian Sterling chose the Sterling family, then he would have to separate from her.
The last time they had that fake divorce, she had already been heartbroken to death. If they really divorced, she could hardly imagine how miserable she would be living without Julian Sterling.
Ruby Sterling was so anxious she couldn't sit still. She felt Old Mr. Sterling had gone too far, actually making her brother make such a difficult choice.
Couldn't he have both?
It was just a grudge from the previous generation. Was there really any need to drag it down onto their generation?
Julian Sterling glanced at Claire Bennett, and his eyes darkened. A flash of unfathomable emotion passed through them, dense as ink, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
A moment later, he slowly said, "Grandpa, I will do as you wish and separate from Claire Bennett."
As soon as he said it, everyone reacted differently.
Old Mr. Sterling's tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and his expression softened. Julian Sterling had not completely lost his mind after all!
The other uncles had assumed that since Julian Sterling had openly defied Old Mr. Sterling for Claire Bennett before, he would make the same choice this time too. They hadn't expected him to choose like this.
They were angry, but at the same time they envied how much Old Mr. Sterling favored Julian Sterling. Even at a time like this, he was still giving him another chance, letting him continue to inherit the Sterling family.
But envy was envy. With the Sterling family in Old Mr. Sterling's hands, they had no way to change his mind.
Just now, Claire Bennett hadn't wanted Julian Sterling to betray the Sterling family for her, but now that he had really made his choice, she felt deeply disappointed instead.
It was as if a giant hand were gripping her heart so tightly that she could barely breathe.
Were she and Julian Sterling finally going to separate?