I Caught My Childhood Sweetheart Cheating—I Only Wanted His Money Anyway Chapter 03
Chloe lifted her hand again, but Ethan stopped her once more.
”She’s still the Bennett family’s daughter. You can’t lay hands on her. Besides, what if you hurt yourself or the baby?”
Chloe’s eyes flickered, then she suddenly smiled. ”Fine. For your sake, I won’t hit her.”
”I’ll just make her kneel and apologize to me. Then she can call me Miss Hart, and I’ll forgive her. She needs to understand who the real lady of the house is.”
Ethan’s face darkened, but he nodded anyway. ”Claire, it looks like there’s been some misunderstanding between you and Chloe.”
”Just do what she says. Once this is cleared up, our engagement next week will proceed as planned.”
I let out a cold laugh. ”How about this? I’ll give her one chance. If she kneels and apologizes to me, I might consider letting her off.”
Before coming back, Evelyn had already told me how she planned to deal with Chloe.
Compared to that, my method was practically merciful.
Ethan’s tone turned sharp. ”Claire Bennett, don’t push this too far. Chloe is pregnant, and you were the one who hit her first.”
”She’s already being reasonable and making a concession. You should know how to appreciate that. Don’t mistake mercy for weakness.”
I shook my head. ”So you really are brain-dead. Me apologizing is not happening.”
His expression hardened further. ”Claire, if you insist on this, then I’ll have no choice but to call off the engagement.”
His tone carried the kind of authority that clearly expected obedience.
At those words, Chloe’s eyes flashed with delight.
Inside, I sneered.
A strategic marriage alliance wasn’t the kind of thing he could cancel on a whim.
I looked at him coldly. ”Ethan, did you forget something? If you don’t marry me, you don’t inherit the family empire.”
A trace of unease crossed Chloe’s face, and she immediately looked up at him. ”Baby, is that true?”
Ethan laughed scornfully. ”Claire, don’t think you can threaten me with that.”
”My company already brought in seven figures in profit not long ago. At this rate, in ten years, my assets will rival the entire Sterling family.”
”I built every deal one by one with my own hands. I didn’t use a single family connection or resource.”
”I’m fully capable of making my own decisions now. I don’t need to rely on anyone anymore.”
He lifted his chin, radiating absolute arrogance.
His words pulled up a memory from last year.
One night, Evelyn had contacted me out of the blue.
She said Ethan was dead set on starting his own company, and she was afraid if his first venture failed, he’d lose confidence for good.
So she came to me, his intended match.
She reminded me again and again not to let Ethan find out the Sterling family was helping him.
I contacted classmates overseas, and my father quietly reached out to some distant business partners. Together, we steered deals his way.
That was how he earned the first real money his company had ever made.
Thinking about it now, the whole thing was laughable.
”Ethan, does Evelyn know everything you just said?”
Anger flared in his eyes. ”Claire Bennett, are you trying to use my mother to pressure me again?”
”That’s your only move. It’s always been your only move. I grew up being controlled by her and lectured by you. I’ve had enough of both.”
”From now on, Sterling family matters are none of your business. And as for who becomes the lady of the house, that will be my decision.”
Chloe’s eyes lit up like stars. ”Baby, you’re such a real man.”
Then she turned to me with open provocation. ”My man is the Sterling family’s only direct heir. If he doesn’t get the final say, then who does?”
My gaze lowered.
Richard Sterling had died young, and Evelyn had spent years holding that entire empire together on her own. I had seen every bit of it.
The Bennett and Sterling families had been tied together through marriage for generations. The ties between our families ran too deep.
If that alliance fell apart because of me, my conscience wouldn’t sit easy.
So I gave him one last chance.
”Ethan, I’ll ask you one final time. Not only does Chloe need to kneel and apologize to me, you do too. Not just to me, but to the Bennett family.”
”If you do that, I’ll pretend none of today ever happened. Otherwise, don’t blame me for the consequences. I’m warning you now.”
He looked at me with open contempt. ”I’ve seen through you for years. Other than hiding behind your family name, what else do you have?”
I calmly watched the two of them, took out my phone, and asked one last time.
”So? Are you kneeling, or not?”
Chloe burst out laughing. ”You’re making a fool of yourself.”
She turned to Ethan. ”Baby, she’s insane. Let’s go.”
I stopped hesitating and placed the call.