Chapter 548
Their Relationship Took a Sudden Turn for the Worse
"Claire, let's get back together."
Julian Sterling had originally had enough patience to clear away every obstacle for Claire Bennett, but what Claire had said that day threw him into a panic.
Now he had abandoned the Sterling family and come to make up with Claire Bennett.
Claire Bennett almost didn't need to think to know what kind of fierce argument had erupted between Julian Sterling and the old Mr. Sterling. She didn't want Julian Sterling to turn his back on his own family for her.
If that were the case, she would rather bear the pain alone.
After calmly thinking it all through, Claire Bennett reached out and pushed him away, saying in a low voice, "Julian Sterling, everything I told you was true. We should still separate. There were already considerable obstacles between us to begin with. I'm very happy that you were able to firmly choose me..."
When Julian Sterling heard Claire Bennett's words, his expression instantly darkened.
Claire Bennett let out a heavy sigh and said cruelly, "But I'm already tired. I don't want to keep repeatedly suffering interference from your family. I can find a family that accepts me, and then I won't have to suffer this kind of pain anymore."
Other than hearing Claire Bennett say she would find another man, Julian Sterling didn't take in anything else she said.
His face turned visibly ugly, and his whole body gave off a gloomy aura.
"Who is this man you're talking about?" Julian Sterling asked with a dark expression.
"It's..." Claire Bennett hesitated for a moment, then lifted her eyes to Julian Sterling. Hardening her heart, she gritted her teeth and said, "It's Zane Cole! We were childhood sweethearts. We grew up together. There aren't any obstacles at all, and the Cole family likes me very much too. I think compared to now..."
Claire Bennett silently said in her heart: Sorry, Zane Cole. I can only use you as a shield right now.
"Enough!" Julian Sterling gritted out as he cut Claire Bennett off.
His eyes darkened as he stared at Claire Bennett without blinking and asked, "Are you sure you really don't want to keep working hard with me? We've already walked through so much together. Can you really bear to give up now?"
Claire Bennett fell silent and said nothing.
After a long while, she finally lifted her eyes and looked at him with a clear gaze, then asked in return, "Julian Sterling, every one of these incidents with the Sterling family has been aimed at me, and what exactly can you do?"
"I've been pushed into the water twice at the Sterling family home. Will there be even more times in the future? And old Mr. Sterling doesn't like me either. He's always trying to push women onto you. What's the point of persisting like this? Do you want me to live under this kind of shadow forever?"
When Julian Sterling heard Claire Bennett's words, he instantly calmed down.
A trace of hurt surfaced in his eyes.
In the end, was it still too late?
He had been working hard to create a beautiful environment for Claire Bennett, but now Claire Bennett was telling him that she felt tired and wanted to choose someone who wasn't so exhausting to be with.
There would no longer be any obstacles, no more schemes and plots.
He wanted to say something, but then felt he had no right to say anything at all; he couldn't even bring himself to ask Claire Bennett to work hard together with him.
What right did he have to make Claire Bennett suffer along with him?
Julian Sterling looked at Claire Bennett absentmindedly, pain on his face. "Have you really decided?"
"Mm!" Claire Bennett clenched her fists and nodded.
Julian Sterling didn't say anything else and simply turned around and left.
Claire Bennett watched his dejected back as he left, and it felt as though a huge piece had been torn out of her heart.
Tears slid down from the corners of her eyes. She raised a hand to wipe them away, but they kept falling, impossible to wipe clean.
What she had said just now had actually been entirely for the sake of making Julian Sterling leave, so that he would stop worrying about her.
Let this be it for them.
In the end, they simply didn't have the fate to make it to the end together.
...
After Julian Sterling left Claire Bennett and returned to the Sterling family home, he looked very off.
He locked himself in his room.
When old Mr. Sterling and old Mrs. Sterling saw that he had come back without saying a word, they couldn't help but feel somewhat worried.
In the end, old Mr. Sterling couldn't hold back anymore. He looked at old Mrs. Sterling and asked anxiously, "What's wrong with Julian? Nothing could have happened to him, right? Could it be that he was rejected by that woman?"
After that day, old Mrs. Sterling had told him to stop interfering in their affairs.
And now this was the result they got?
"Wasn't Claire the one you hated most? Now that things didn't work out between Julian and her, shouldn't you be very happy? Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"
Old Mrs. Sterling was used to snapping back at old Mr. Sterling, and now when she heard what he said, she couldn't help but retort a few times too.
"..." Old Mr. Sterling's voice caught, and his face darkened.
He snorted and said, "What kind of talk is that! I'm just worried about Julian. What if something really happens to him because of that woman?"
Although Julian Sterling had been pretending last time, the way he looked now didn't seem fake at all.
Although old Mrs. Sterling was talking back to old Mr. Sterling, she was also worried about Julian Sterling. She said, "After what happened before, Julian definitely has some lingering fear because of you. We should let Ruby come over and take a look. Ruby and Julian have always had a pretty good relationship."
"Right, right, right. Hurry and contact Ruby to come over now!"
So the two of them called Ruby Sterling and told her that something seemed wrong with Julian Sterling.
After Ruby Sterling got the call, she hurried over. "Grandma, you said something happened to my brother. What exactly happened?"