I Caught My Childhood Sweetheart Cheating—I Only Wanted His Money Anyway Chapter 08
The guests burst into applause and congratulations.
The blessings rolled through the hall without end.
When the livestream camera finally settled on the couple’s faces, Ethan went still.
“What the hell is this? He’s the Sterling heir? Then who am I?‘
Chloe panicked too.
Her mind went blank.
Had everything she schemed for been wrong from the start?
Ethan immediately ran downstairs and tried to force his way into the convention center.
“I’m Ethan Sterling. I’m the heir to the Sterling family.”
A security guard stopped him cold and shoved him to the ground.
“Who are you trying to fool? It’s all over the big screen. The Sterling family’s eldest son is inside getting engaged.”
“You don’t get to call yourself the heir just because you say so. Hell, I could say I am too.”
Then they threw him out.
By the time the guests and media had finally dispersed, the rest of us emerged from the venue.
The second Ethan saw us, he rushed forward.
He pointed angrily at the man on my arm.
‘Mom, who is he? How could you make him the Sterling heir and announce it in front of the media?”
Then he turned on me. ‘Claire Bennett, are you blind? You’re really going to marry some random man you found off the street?”
Evelyn looked at him without a trace of warmth. “Ethan, this was your choice.”
‘Did you really think the Sterling family had no one else to inherit after you?”
His face twisted. “Mom, what is that supposed to mean? Is he your illegitimate son?”
Her face went white with fury.
She stepped forward and slapped him again, clean and hard. “How dare you think that of me?”
I quickly steadied Evelyn and answered in a calm voice, ‘Ethan, he’s your distant cousin. He’s been legally adopted under Evelyn’s name, and he’s the man I’ll be marrying.”
“And don’t forget what I told you before. It was never enough just to be born a Sterling. The person who
marries me is the person who gets the inheritance.”
His brows locked together, as though the entire thing were too absurd to process. “Mom, this is insane. You
can’t choose the Sterling heir this casually.”
‘I’ve never even met him before. Don’t let him deceive you.”
Evelyn looked at him with complete disappointment.
‘Ethan, you must have forgotten the Sterling family code. Any descendant or spouse who defies their elders
is cast out of the family immediately.”
‘Chloe Hart publicly insulted me at the private airfield. Later, you poisoned my wine and nearly cost me my
life. You’ve violated that code again and again.”
“You refused the alliance. You refused to repent. The empire and interests built over generations cannot be
destroyed by one worthless heir. If one man can’t carry it, then he gets replaced.”
Seeing how final his mother’s stance was, Ethan immediately turned and threw himself at my parents, trying
to win sympathy.
“You watched Claire and me grow up together. How can you really trust some outsider with her?”
My father shook him off with force, his presence overwhelming. “And would you have us trust our daughter
to a man as arrogant and blind as you?”
‘Claire and I connected partners to your company, and you turned around and took all the credit for yourself.”
“You let another woman humiliate our daughter right in front of us, and all you did was shield the outsider.
When exactly did you ever show an ounce of respect for the Bennett family?”
‘As for this new son–in–law, in character, appearance, ability, and temperament, what part of him doesn’t
surpass you?”
Ethan was left speechless.
Inside, I laughed coldly.
What my father didn’t say was that before the wedding, this new fiancé had already signed every agreement
set before him.
In this alliance, I held absolute control.
Evelyn retained full authority over the Sterling holdings and equity.
As for the assets and business interests of our future household, those would all be under my control.
He had also pledged lifelong loyalty and absolute fidelity.
That was the outcome that truly maximized the interests of both the Bennett and Sterling families.
‘Mom! Are you really abandoning me? Mom!” Ethan dropped to his knees with a thud and broke into sobs.
Evelyn took a deep breath and said coldly,
‘You’ll receive a minimal monthly allowance. You won’t starve. Beyond that, don’t expect anything.”
Then her face hardened.
She took my hand and Julian’s. ‘Come on, son. Claire. Let’s go home.”
Everyone turned and walked away, leaving Ethan kneeling there alone.
Off to the side, Chloe had watched the whole thing unfold.
She was finally starting to panic for real.
Ethan turned to her in a daze. “Chloe… let’s figure something out. You still love me, right?”
She tore off the mask completely and looked at him with naked disgust.
‘How are you this useless?”