Chapter 9
Trying to Seduce Him Again and Again
Ruby Sterling replied almost immediately.
"Lingerie, of course. Seven full sets—one for each day, enough for you two to have your fun nice and slow. What, you don't like the styles? Then I'll send you a few more sets."
Claire Bennett almost coughed up blood. She could practically picture Ruby Sterling's suggestive smile.
"No need, thank you!"
"How is there no need? You should start making a baby with your whirlwind-marriage husband right now. By next month, you ought to be able to get a golden egg tucked into that belly of yours. Then at that trash couple's engagement party, you'll have your darling husband on your left arm and your sweet baby under your right hand, and you'll blind that cheating pair's titanium dog eyes!"
"..." Claire Bennett's mouth twitched.
She realized that she and Ruby Sterling were completely not on the same wavelength.
When Ruby Sterling was in college, she especially loved reading romance novels.
Although Ruby Sterling had only ever been in one relationship, and things with her boyfriend had never made any real progress, her imagination was wild. In this area, she was especially uninhibited, to the point that she seemed like a seasoned veteran of love.
Besides, she and this fake Julian Sterling were only married temporarily.
Maybe after Ethan Sterling and Naomi Pierce got engaged, once she took him there to slap them in the face, they would separate. How could anything really happen between them? And there was no way they would make a baby.
Claire Bennett was busy texting Ruby Sterling and didn't notice that the man ahead had already stopped walking.
She walked straight into his hard chest.
That clean, crisp scent of his filled her nose. The man was tall, and it felt as though she had fallen right into his arms. Claire Bennett felt all the blood rush to her face; she was about to spontaneously combust.
"Mm..." Claire Bennett rubbed her aching forehead.
She quickly stepped back two paces. "Sorry."
Julian Sterling's brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a mosquito. He hadn't expected this woman to try to seduce him again and again.
Such a low-level trick. Did she not know he'd already seen right through her?
Julian Sterling asked coldly, "Which way?"
Claire Bennett pointed ahead awkwardly. "This way."
The two of them walked toward the apartment without speaking again, and Claire Bennett didn't dare play with her phone anymore.
At last, they arrived at the apartment.
There was an elevator here, so Julian Sterling wouldn't have to keep carrying the suitcase around, and there was no fear of another awkward incident like before.
Actually, all along the way, Julian Sterling had helped without a single complaint.
It was as if that gentlemanly manner came naturally from his bones. He wasn't like Ethan Sterling, who always thought of himself as some rich young master and always carried himself on a pedestal. He would never help with this kind of thing.
Claire Bennett's impression of Julian Sterling improved a little more.
She opened the apartment door, and the layout of the room came into view.
It was a compact one-bedroom, one-living-room unit, with simple furniture like a bed and sofa. It looked bright and clean.
Claire Bennett had thought the place was pretty spacious before, but once Julian Sterling's tall frame entered, it instantly felt oppressive.
Although the apartment came furnished, some bedding and other things would need to be bought new and replaced.
Claire Bennett set the suitcase to the side and glanced at Julian Sterling.
She had assumed Ruby Sterling had given him her address and that he had come over to live with her.
After weighing her words for a moment, she asked hesitantly, "When are you planning to move in?"
So she finally said it?
Julian Sterling's gaze fell on Claire Bennett's stomach, as if it could pierce through her like an X-ray.
"Move in?"
Claire Bennett didn't know what he was thinking; she only felt that his gaze was especially sharp.
She nodded. "Yeah. I don't live with the Sterling family, so if you came here looking for me, wasn't it to live with me?"
Asking when he would move in was also so she could be mentally prepared.
After thinking about it, Claire Bennett continued, "I'm free tomorrow and the day after. After that, I'll be going to Sterling International to do illustrations, so I'm afraid I won't have time to help you move your things."
She looked up at him. "How about tomorrow instead? Is that okay?"