Chapter 71
Stealing All the Spotlight
Julian Sterling's appearance threw off the rhythm of the engagement party.
Quite a few of the guests had come for him in the first place, and now that Julian Sterling had shown up, those CEOs all looked at him like wolves spotting meat and eagerly rushed forward to make themselves known.
No one outside had ever seen Julian Sterling before, yet today they were seeing his true face at an occasion like this—how could they not be excited!
Julian Sterling was also a miracle in the business world. In the short time since he entered Sterling International, he had nearly increased its market value tenfold!
And on top of that, there was the rumor that he was the future head of the Sterling family...
The executives who had been surrounding Ethan Sterling all went over to Julian Sterling's side to build connections, leaving him alone in the corner with no one paying him any attention.
The scene of everyone fawning over him just moments ago felt like a dream.
His face had turned ashen with rage.
Damn it!
Julian Sterling had stolen all his thunder. This was obviously his engagement party today—he was supposed to be the star of the day!
Quite a few wealthy young women had also gathered around Claire Bennett. Just now they had sneered at her, but after learning that she was Julian Sterling's wife, their attitude changed instantly.
"Claire, your gown is gorgeous. I had no idea you were Sterling Group's president's wife. No wonder you were able to wear Jin Ni's showpiece to this event."
"Exactly. Compared to yours, the one Naomi Pierce is wearing is nowhere close."
"Mr. Sterling is so mysterious. Claire, how did you meet him?"
The rich girls around Claire Bennett all started peppering her with questions, acting as though they were close to her and completely forgetting the mocking, sarcastic faces they had shown her just moments ago.
What was pride worth, anyway?
These rich girls didn't care about that at all. In their eyes, profit came first.
Claire Bennett's status and standing were far more impressive than Naomi Pierce's. Sucking up to Claire Bennett was far more useful than currying favor with Naomi Pierce, so of course they immediately switched targets and began flattering Claire Bennett instead.
When Julian Sterling was mentioned, Claire Bennett looked over worriedly at Julian Sterling, who was surrounded by a crowd of executives. She was afraid that he had never been through a scene like this before, and that being surrounded by so many people would expose him.
Julian Sterling stood in the center, tall and straight. Faced with the eager, ingratiating executives all around him, he listened quietly, noble and aloof, without the slightest trace of timidity, as though he were an emperor born to move through this upper circle, calm and unhurried.
He was adapting extremely well. She didn't need to worry.
Quite a few of the rich girls looked over too and exclaimed, "Ah! Mr. Sterling is so handsome! I never thought he'd be so young and so good-looking."
"I'm so jealous of Claire Bennett!"
"Which direction do I need to kneel in to get a man like that?"
Claire Bennett's feelings were incredibly complicated. In truth, she didn't have this man either—he already had a girlfriend.
After today's engagement party, they would probably go their separate ways.
Naomi Pierce was another one being neglected at the moment. She too was standing off to the side with no one paying her any attention, and the only people still by her side were Luna Brooks and Meng Lifen.
They actually wanted to come over to Claire Bennett's side too and try to cozy up to her, but they had already taken plenty of benefits from Naomi Pierce before, and on top of that they had clashed with Claire Bennett earlier. She probably would not forgive them easily.
Helping Naomi Pierce was the only way to maximize the last bit of value they could get, so they chose to stay by Naomi Pierce's side.
"Siki, don't worry. Don't you still have dirt on Claire Bennett?"
"You'll definitely be able to ruin her. Let's see how she can keep being so smug then."
The two of them spoke up to comfort her, though in their hearts they were also somewhat jealous of Claire Bennett and wanted to destroy her.
Naomi Pierce took out her phone. She saw that the download progress bar had already reached the end—the video was about to finish downloading. The manor castle was located in the Lake Geneva countryside, and the signal wasn't very good, which was why she had been waiting so long.
In a moment, she was going to destroy Claire Bennett!