I Caught My Childhood Sweetheart Cheating—I Only Wanted His Money Anyway Chapter 05
The video showed Chloe ordering the flight attendant around, acting arrogant and overbearing, then spewing
abuse at me and throwing an outrageous tantrum.
It laid out her behavior in full.
Evelyn’s voice turned cold. “The Sterling family has always been low–profile and well–mannered. We do not mistreat people, and we have a solid reputation in high society.”
“And yet here she is, a mistress with no title and no standing, already throwing the family name around. She didn’t even know who Claire was before she started acting outrageous and trying to climb over the actual
bride–to–be.”
“If she gets even the slightest foothold in this family, who knows how much damage she’ll bring down on the Sterling name?”
She crossed her arms and looked at Ethan without leaving him any room to argue.
“Ethan, I don’t care how tangled things used to be between the two of you.”
‘Choose now. Either you marry Claire and inherit the Sterling family empire, or you take her and get out of this family.”
Ethan froze.
Evelyn’s voice echoed over the private airfield.
From the time he was a boy, the person he feared most had always been his mother.
And this time, there was not the slightest sign she was joking.
He clearly realized how serious things had become. He didn’t even seem able to force out a rebuttal.
The moment Chloe sensed hesitation in him, panic flashed across her face.
If he chose the first option, she would be left with nothing.
“Ah!”
She stepped on her own foot, let herself fall, and clutched her stomach as if she were in agony.
‘What happened?” Ethan immediately turned toward her.
‘Mom, Chloe looks hurt. She’s carrying my child. We need to get her to the hospital now.”
He bent to scoop her into his arms, but Evelyn’s assistant stepped in front of him.
‘Drop the act. I saw exactly what happened.”
Evelyn looked utterly disgusted. “I’ll say it one more time. You choose now. Marry Claire and inherit the
empire, or take her and walk away from this family.‘
Ethan turned and met his mother’s eyes.
‘Mom, you taught me from the time I was little to be responsible. She’s carrying my child. I have to take
responsibility for her.”
‘My company has already gotten off the ground. I can support myself now. Even without the Sterling family’s
resources, I’ll survive.”
Then he snapped at the assistant, “Move.”
The assistant hesitated, then finally stepped aside.
Ethan turned and walked off with Chloe in his arms.
Evelyn’s face went pale with disappointment, and her voice trembled faintly. “So… he chose the second
option?”
“He was so desperate to start his own company. So this was what it was all for.”
I patted her shoulder gently and softened my voice. “If he walks away today, it won’t be long before he regrets
it.”
She looked at me, and a flicker of hope returned to her eyes.
I gave my phone a little shake and smiled.
A few moments earlier, I had already messaged my father and the investment partners overseas.
As Ethan carried Chloe farther away, his phone began vibrating nonstop.
It became nearly continuous.
He had no choice but to set Chloe down and pull out his phone.
One funding withdrawal after another started flooding the screen, and his face darkened more with every
second.
“What is this?”
“Why are all of my investors pulling out?”
I held up my phone and smiled at him.
His eyes burned with rage, like he wanted to swallow me whole. “Claire Bennett, what the hell did you do?”
Evelyn stepped in front of me protectively. “Who exactly are you yelling at? What right do you have to take
that tone with Claire?”
‘If it weren’t for her, do you honestly think your company would have lasted this long?”
Ethan stared at her in shock. “Mom… what do you mean by that? All of those deals were mine. What does Claire have to do with any of it?”
Evelyn let out a cold, bitter laugh.
‘My foolish Ethan. We were afraid a failure would crush your confidence, and we didn’t want you realizing the family was quietly helping you.”
‘Every investor your company ever had was connected through the Bennett family.”
He shook his head over and over, unable to believe it. “That’s impossible. I won those deals one drink at a time.”
Evelyn almost laughed from sheer anger. “You think people partnered with your empty shell of a startup because you were just that impressive?”
‘They did it out of respect for the Bennett and Sterling families.”
Then she cut the final blow. “If you dare walk away with her today, your company will be bankrupt within the hour.”