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Home / Romance / Mr. Sterling, Your Wife Wants the Baby, Not You / Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

All Chapters of Mr. Sterling, Your Wife Wants the Baby, Not You: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

100 Chapters

Chapter 71

The sight of it caught her completely off guard.Claire stared at the screen for several long seconds before the meaning finally sank in.Had Adrian blocked her, or had Sienna done it?Sienna had been the one to answer the phone. That alone told Claire Adrian had no issue letting her look through his messages.The first text Claire sent had gone through.The second got her blocked.So had Sienna seen the message, taken offense, and Adrian blocked Claire just to reassure her where his loyalties stood?Then again, whether Sienna had done it herself or Adrian had done it willingly made little difference.He had always indulged her.Was this his way of avoiding any private contact with Claire as much as possible?Before she could stop it, a picture formed in her mind.Sienna upset over Claire’s badly timed call and messages. Adrian pulling her into his arms, soothing her in a low voice, coaxing her with endless patience.Claire lowered her eyes and let out a faint, self-mocking laugh.She

Chapter 72

This was nothing like the way Claire used to act around Adrian.Adrian slowly looked away.Ryan’s voice came through the line again. “Adrian, you didn’t marry a wife. You married a natural-born actress.”Adrian lowered his eyes and flicked his lighter once in his hand.He did not answer.He simply got into the car.Claire had no intention of making her grandpa’s ninetieth birthday some grand affair.The Bennett family was small to begin with. All she wanted was to make it warm and lively enough for the old man to enjoy himself.There were only enough guests to fill a single table.And because the party was on the small side, she had arranged for a few performance groups to make the room feel more festive.The banquet hall she had booked was not small.The night before the celebration, Claire got a call from the Grand Kensington Hotel.“Ms. Bennett, we sincerely apologize. We’ve had an unexpected surge in bookings, and although your reservation is only for a table of twenty, the hall yo

Chapter 73

Claire looked at him, distracted. “What is it?”Julian frowned. “I think the event in the hall next door is for Sienna’s little brother’s birthday.”The color had barely drained from Claire’s face before shock flashed through her eyes. “Noah?”She turned and hurried out.The banquet room next door was only a short walk away.And it was, in fact, the very room she had originally booked.The hotel had only just convinced her to give it up.At the entrance, the welcome sign displayed a photo of Noah.They were celebrating his birthday here too.At the door, Victor and Bianca stood side by side greeting guests.The moment Victor saw Claire, he did not look surprised in the slightest. He smiled and stepped toward her as though the years of silence between them had never happened.“Claire, what a coincidence. We’re celebrating your brother’s birthday too. Why don’t we combine the two parties and use one hall?”Claire’s gaze turned glacial. “Are we close enough for that?”More than a decade h

Chapter 74

Julian understood at once and nodded. “Okay. I’ll speak to the hotel.”“Cece, why are your eyes red? Did someone upset you? I’ll stand up for you.” Walter’s clouded gaze caught the strain behind Claire’s forced smile, and he grew so anxious he tried to turn his wheelchair toward her, reaching for her face.Claire hurried over immediately. “I’m fine, Grandpa. Really. The hotel’s just too crowded today. Let’s go home and eat there instead, okay?”Walter was not always fully clear-headed these days.He was easy enough to soothe.Claire did her best to calm him.Next door, Bianca was still seething over Claire’s disrespect.With a cold expression, she said, “Look at that little curse. Even after being dumped out in the countryside, no one managed to beat the thorns out of her. Still all claws and teeth, snapping at everyone the second they get close.”Victor sighed helplessly. “She’s just like her mother. Once she decides she’s right, she’ll never let anything go.”“And somehow she’s the l

Chapter 75

Claire stood there without expression, facing Noah, who was still too stunned to react.She looked down at the spoiled, out-of-control little boy in front of her, a child spoiled so completely he hadn’t learned a shred of manners.The slap had landed squarely across his reckless mouth.Clearly, Noah had never been hit or even properly scolded in his life.For several long seconds, he could only stare at Claire with wide, disbelieving eyes.His lips stung.Then he glared up at her viciously, his face scrunching as he dragged in a breath, ready to burst into tears.Claire’s expression did not change.She grabbed Noah by the arm and hauled his solid little body out of the banquet room by force.Julian reacted just as quickly.The moment Claire intercepted Noah, he pushed Walter toward the other exit that led outside.The moment Noah was dragged away, he let out a piercing wail, loud enough to make it sound as though his heart were being torn out.And then, in what seconds earlier had look

Chapter 76

Claire had just poured Walter a glass of water when she heard a knock at the door.Frowning, she walked over. “That was fast. Did you already get the food?”But the moment she opened the door, her expression froze.The last trace of a smile vanished from her face.Adrian lowered his gaze slowly.His deep eyes settled on her. “Are you not going to invite me in?”His voice was calm, almost flat.Claire had the immediate urge to shut the door in his face, but Walter’s voice was already drifting out from the room behind her.“Cece, who is it?”Claire’s hand tightened around the doorknob, then slowly relaxed.She looked at Adrian. He had not come empty-handed.Several elegant gift bags hung from one hand.After giving her only a brief glance, Adrian stepped past her and walked inside.“Grandpa, it’s me.”The moment he entered, he went straight to Walter. A faint smile softened his features.Walter looked confused for a second, but after staring at him for a while, recognition returned. “Adr

Chapter 77

Claire’s pupils trembled.That was exactly what infuriated her most about Adrian. He was always too perceptive, always catching the single word that mattered.Fortunately, Walter never held onto a thought for long these days. One sentence was gone by the next. He simply sat there stroking the scrolls of his late wife’s paintings and murmured, “Children are good. The more children you have, the more to look after each other later. Unlike our Claire... all alone, with no one by her side.”Hearing those muddled words from her grandpa only made Claire’s chest ache.She was the one Walter worried about most.He was afraid she would be taken advantage of, afraid she would be wronged, afraid she would have no one in her corner.Adrian could tell Walter was confused as well.So he let the word another pass and did not pursue it.He stepped forward, arranged the scrolls neatly within Walter’s reach, and said in a calm, gentle voice, “All right. We’ll do our best.”Claire almost wanted to laugh.

Chapter 78

Claire took a sip of the strong liquor from her tiny cup.It burned all the way down.Good.Really, this was for the best.If anything, she ought to thank Adrian for how fiercely he favored and protected Sienna. That single-minded devotion was exactly why Ellie had remained hidden so successfully all this time.He had hurried off to Sienna, ensuring he wouldn’t cross paths with Ellie.“Did something urgent come up at Adrian’s company?” Walter asked after a moment, concern beginning to show on his face. “Something serious?”Claire smiled. “Yes. Very serious. If he didn’t go, it might have killed him.”Julian looked at Claire, at the way she seemed so calm and detached, like someone standing outside her own life and watching it happen to somebody else.He pressed his lips together, unable to put into words what he was feeling.But Claire truly was fine.Her attention had long since shifted entirely to Ellie. As long as the divorce went through smoothly and there was no fight over custody

Chapter 79

Claire quickly pieced everything together.So this was why Adrian had been called away.“Aren’t they supposed to be the ones who got hit?”“That’s complete bullshit,” Avery snapped. “I reacted fast enough as it was. That little chubby brat ran into the road like it was his own backyard. If I hadn’t swerved to avoid hitting him, none of this would have happened. And when Sienna called the police, she said I was speeding, claimed I tried to run, and even accused me of hitting someone. That’s the only reason this ended up at the station.”At the time, Avery had been furious with the little brat.After calming Ellie down, she had gotten out of the car to deal with it.The moment she walked over, Sienna shoved her.Avery was not the kind of person who swallowed that sort of humiliation, so she shoved her back.And somehow that brief scuffle had turned into assault in Sienna’s version of events.The second Avery realized Ellie was still there listening, she awkwardly crouched down and covere

Chapter 80

Claire’s whole body went taut in an instant.Her eyes moved on instinct to Ellie, resting in Avery’s arms in the waiting area.She parted her lips. “Then don’t...”But before she could finish, Adrian said in that calm, indifferent voice of his, “No. The child’s upset. He won’t let me leave.”That single sentence hit Claire like a bucket of ice water.It drenched her, chilled her straight through, and cleared her head all at once.Won’t let me leave.Even with Noah, a child not related to him by blood, Adrian was this attentive, patient, and devoted.If Adrian ever found out that the choice he made today had caused him to miss his own daughter, would he regret it?Claire no longer cared enough to want the answer.Her fists clenched hard. Bitter irony filled her eyes as she spoke, each word measured.“Adrian, I’m walking Avery out of this police station right now. Either you handle Sienna, or I will.”Ellie could not wait any longer.She needed treatment now.And for that, Claire was wil

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