Chapter 4
1472 Words
Claire didn't wait or hesitate any longer. She turned and walked away.
Sophie had heard what happened in the private room and couldn't help defending her friend. But when she looked over, Claire's face was surprisingly calm, as if none of it had affected her.
Once they got in the car, Sophie turned the heat all the way up.
"I heard they even tipped you. Your cheating husband and that shameless mistress—how could they be so damn shameless? What are you going to do now? Handle this on your own? Have you told your family you want a divorce?"
Claire shook her head.
"No."
The Bennett family depended on the Sterlings. Her father would never agree to the divorce. And her mother was too meek to stand up to him.
"That doesn't matter."
What had happened tonight only made Claire more determined.
She needed a career of her own. She needed to be able to make her own money.
Otherwise, people like them would always have the power to walk all over her.
"Don't tell my family yet. If they find out, they'll do everything they can to stop me from getting divorced."
Claire thought for a moment.
"I'm going to find a job first. I can't depend on other people forever."
Sophie squeezed her hand.
"You can always depend on me."
"I know. But this time is different. I've decided to divorce Ethan, and if I'm going to negotiate with him, I need something to bargain with. Money and a career are the most important things."
Claire's gaze hardened.
"I can't let him think that I'll be helpless the moment I leave him. I don't want that."
She still remembered the way he'd offered her five hundred thousand a month for sleeping with him, then asked what more she could possibly want.
This wasn't about being satisfied.
She simply didn't want that kind of life.
She wanted love.
All he was offering her in return was money.
If that was all their marriage had left, then there was no reason to keep it going.
Once she'd made up her mind, Claire started sending out résumés.
She had no professional experience. She hadn't even set foot in the design industry for two years.
But she'd won awards for her university graduation project, and that alone was enough to earn her interview invitations from most of the companies she applied to.
Her first step had gone surprisingly well.
A new sense of purpose surged through her, filling her with determination.
She couldn't help wondering...
If she hadn't married Ethan two years ago, perhaps she'd already have built a name for herself by now.
Early Saturday morning, Claire was still asleep when her phone rang.
She picked it up groggily.
"Hello?"
"Claire, I'm outside. I made some soup for you and Ethan. Come down and get it."
The familiar voice instantly woke her up.
She looked at her phone.
It was Ethan's father, Franklin Sterling.
"Franklin, why did you bring it yourself? We can just come home and have it tonight."
Saturday nights were family dinner nights. Claire and Ethan normally went back to the Sterling residence every Saturday.
Franklin replied, "There won't be anyone home tonight, so don't bother coming. I made the soup ahead of time, so I figured I'd bring it over."
He had already arrived at their mansion.
But Claire wasn't there.
And she wasn't ready for anyone to know about her plans for divorce.
"You don't have to rush back. I'll leave the soup by the door. There's also a document I need you to deliver. And thank you for taking care of Ethan. After being married this long, you must know what he's like. Marriage is about meeting each other halfway. Whatever happens, talk things through..."
Claire understood why he'd come.
He must have seen the news and wanted to convince them to work things out.
Ethan was nothing like his father.
Franklin was warm, refined, and kind. He had always treated Claire well.
In fact, everyone in the Sterling family had treated her well.
That was what made the thought of divorce so painful.
She didn't know how she could tell them.
For now, all she could do was agree.
Claire returned home to pick up the soup, then hailed a cab to Sterling Group.
The company's headquarters towered into the sky.
Claire had always known the Bennett family couldn't compare to the Sterlings.
But standing there now, she realized it wasn't even a comparison.
They weren't remotely in the same league.
There were women everywhere in the office, all dressed in polished business attire, even the receptionists wearing immaculate makeup.
In an environment like this, it was no wonder Ethan looked down on Claire for being a housewife.
Even though she'd become one for his sake.
Once she arrived downstairs, Claire called his assistant and asked him to deliver the document directly to Ethan.
Ryan quickly came down to meet her.
Because Claire and Ethan had kept their marriage private, he deliberately changed the way he addressed her.
"Miss, we're not authorized to accept documents intended specifically for Mr. Sterling. I'm afraid you'll have to take them up yourself."
Ryan gave her an apologetic smile and led her into the building.
Claire had no choice but to follow.
On the way upstairs, Ryan updated her on Ethan's schedule and recent work until he finally escorted her to the office.
Once he left, Claire stood outside the door for a long time without opening it.
She didn't want to run into Ethan.
She planned to leave the documents and go.
Whatever he said, she'd pretend she hadn't heard him.
With that in mind, she pushed the door open.
The office was completely empty.
Ethan wasn't there.
She hadn't wanted to see him, yet the fact that he wasn't there left an even emptier feeling in her chest.
Apparently, Ethan hadn't taken her threat of divorce seriously at all.
He probably still thought she was throwing a tantrum and would come running back once she'd gotten it out of her system.
He had never cared about anything involving her.
Not her feelings.
Not her emotions.
She was only realizing it now.
Claire slammed the documents onto the desk and turned around without another glance.
She didn't want to spend one more second in this place.
Just then, the office door suddenly opened.
Eliana walked in wearing a black blouse, the top two buttons undone, revealing a generous glimpse of skin.
Her short skirt ended above the knee, leaving her long, slender legs wrapped in black stockings.
She was sexy, polished, and carried herself with the confidence of a powerful career woman.
It was the kind of combination that was hard for any man to resist.
"Who said you could come in here?"
Eliana spotted the soup on the desk and picked it up with obvious disgust.
"Are you one of the Sterlings' servants?"
She was pretending not to recognize Claire.
Claire looked away from her in disgust.
"No."
Eliana clearly didn't want to waste another word on her.
"I don't care who you are. Don't come directly to Ethan's office again."
With that, she turned and walked into the adjoining lounge.
The door was wide open.
A large bed faced the office entrance, the sheets in complete disarray.
A man's white shirt, black trousers, and a pair of dark blue boxer briefs were scattered across the foot of the bed.
Eliana picked up the clothes one by one and carried them into the bathroom before returning to straighten the sheets.
Then Claire saw them.
Beneath the rumpled bedding lay a black stocking and a leopard-print bra.
Her breath caught.
All the color drained from her face.
So this was why Ethan was always "busy"?
Apparently, he still had plenty of free time to fool around with Eliana in his office.
"Why are you still here?"
Eliana tossed the stocking and bra into the bathroom and walked back out.
Seeing Claire still standing there, her expression darkened.
Claire pointed at the document.
"This needs to be handed directly to Ethan."
"You can give it to me."
There was open hostility in Eliana's gaze now.
This was nothing like the sweet, demure woman Claire had seen outside the restaurant, clinging to Ethan's side.
This was Ethan's office.
And Eliana was acting like she owned the place.
She reached for the document.
Claire suddenly raised her hand and pressed it firmly against the papers.
Then she deliberately looked Eliana up and down with the same contempt Eliana had shown her.
"I've never seen you at the Sterling residence..."
Her gaze deliberately shifted to the disheveled bed before returning to Eliana.
"You can't be one of the Sterlings' housekeepers."
She paused.
"Unless you're someone Ethan paid to keep him company?"
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