Semua Bab Mr. Sterling, Your Wife Wants the Baby, Not You: Bab 21 - Bab 30

Claire’s mind went blank for several seconds.She truly had not expected Madam Sterling to be serious about finding her a second husband.And this soon?“Grandma, I’m really not thinking about that right now.” Claire rubbed at her temple.She had no idea what to do with this kind of overwhelming, aggressively well-meant concern.“But I’ve already arranged it for you. Just think of it as meeting a friend first. There’s never any harm in knowing more people, and everything else can come later, all right?” Madam Sterling coaxed patiently.“Tonight at eight. Dress nicely.”Apparently afraid Claire might refuse again, the older woman ended the call immediately.Claire stared at her screen, speechless.This method of making things up to her on Adrian’s behalf was a little too intense.She checked the time.Six-thirty.After a moment’s thought, she decided to go after all. At the very least, she could make things clear in person and spare everyone an awkward misunderstanding.The place Madam

Claire was so shaken by the whole thing that she was on the verge of losing control.Humiliation, disgust, anger, fear, all of it hit at once and left her strung tight to the point of breaking.She knew it too.Only something extreme would have stopped them from forcing her to hand over the phone.She was a woman with secrets. She could not afford to gamble.Even Damien looked briefly caught off guard. Claire had gone a little too far, had she not? Was protecting her phone really worth that much?For a moment, even Noah forgot to fake-cry. Twisting around in Sienna’s arms, he just stared at Claire.Adrian’s expression barely shifted, but the darkness in his eyes deepened into something cold and wintry, utterly stripped of warmth. His gaze stayed on Claire’s face for a long moment before drifting, slowly, to the shattered phone on the floor.“So I’m not allowed to look?”Claire had never been the type to lose control easily.What she had done tonight made it obvious there was something

He had gone after her out of sheer good will, just to offer a word of comfort.And Claire had thrown it straight back in his face.Damien frowned to himself.The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed that he had chased after her at all.As if he had been temporarily possessed.Claire, meanwhile, spared Damien no further thought.After heading downstairs, she made her way to the so-called private lounge.There was no one there.The attendant who had come upstairs earlier to tell her that her date was waiting approached her again.“Miss Bennett, I’m sorry. I was only following my supervisor’s instructions.”Claire was quick enough to understand the setup almost immediately.This so-called date had probably never existed.Madam Sterling had staged the whole thing on purpose.First, Claire would be sent to Adrian’s suite so the two of them could conveniently end up sharing dinner.Then some imaginary man would be introduced to provoke a flicker of jealousy in Adrian as he

Through the glass, Claire saw Adrian and Sienna seated inside.Across from them sat a middle-aged couple, along with one more familiar face: Noah Cole.Three of them were people she ran into often enough.But that couple...The man was her biological father, Victor Cole. The woman beside him was Bianca, the mistress he had kept for years while he was still married to Claire’s mother.The moment Avery arrived and spotted Adrian and Sienna inside, she spat out, “What a disgusting pair.”She cursed them both thoroughly, then turned and noticed how pale Claire had gone. Without another word, she grabbed her by the arm and hurried her toward a table.“I know the divorce is only just happening, so of course this still hurts,” Avery said, doing her best to comfort her. “That’s normal. Seven years isn’t something you just shrug off.”Avery was not exactly delicate by nature. This was her version of gentleness.Claire shook her head. “It’s not because of that.”“Then what?”“Sienna’s stepfather

Claire had not expected Adrian to be home.He almost never came back these days.And yet lately, every time she returned, he somehow seemed to be there.At the sound of her entering, Adrian lifted his eyes and looked over. He took in the travel-worn look about her at once.“You’ve been that busy with work?”Busy enough, apparently, that she had barely been coming home.The estate had mentioned that Claire had not sent over special meals in days.She used to make a point of delivering restorative soups and tonics, sometimes even to his office.Lately, that had stopped too.He knew why.It was because of Sienna.This time, though, Claire’s anger seemed to carry a kind of steel it had lacked before.Claire had no intention of answering him. She only turned to Martha.“The photo?”Martha wiped her hands on her apron and pointed toward Adrian. “It’s by sir’s desk.”Only then did Claire see it.The family portrait was sitting beside Adrian’s laptop.She had no choice but to walk over.She be