“I heard about it too.
President Sterling bought that diamond at an overseas auction for a staggering price.
Word has it they’re even planning to design a one-of-a-kind diamond ring together.”
Chloe Austin looked at Caden Sterling with a strange expression.
At the same time, Caden also noticed Chloe standing in the crowd.
Her fair skin glowed under the dazzling lights, beautifully accentuating her bright red lips and pearly white teeth.
Caden approached her step by step, drawing everyone’s attention to the two of them.
“What?
Did you come all the way here just to hand me the divorce papers?”
Chloe’s voice was soft, but it was just loud enough for the few of them to hear.
“I was the one who brought up the divorce, so I’m giving you a chance to save face.” She smiled radiantly, but inwardly, she was gritting her teeth.
“If you know what’s good for you, disappear from our sight right now,” Jensen Austin said, stepping in front of Caden and glaring at him with a warning in his eyes.
“Stop trying to draw attention to yourself.
Chloe was blind to have ever fallen for you, but now the Austin family has absolutely nothing to do with the Morgan family.”
“Chloe Austin, you were just my stand-in,” Vivian Sullivan chimed in.
“It’s a bit inappropriate for your brother to speak to Caden like that, don’t you think?
Or is this just the level of manners the Austin family possesses?”
SLAP!
Chloe delivered a crisp slap across Vivian’s face.
“Oops, sorry about that.
My hand has been cramping up lately, and it’s especially bad today.
Really sorry about that slap.
Why don’t you hit me back to make it even?”
Chloe watched her with a playful smirk.
Clutching her cheek, Vivian collapsed into Caden’s arms, weeping pitifully.
“Caden, I was only standing up for you.
All I did was tell the truth, and she…”
“Chloe Austin, you’ve gone too far!” Caden raised his hand to strike back, but Jensen firmly caught his wrist, shooting him an icy glare.
“President Austin, I’m giving you face this time.
But there won’t be a next time,” Caden said.
He was wary of his upcoming collaboration with the host of the banquet.
Furthermore, everyone knew the host was on excellent terms with the Austin family.
If Jensen were to badmouth him to the host, Caden’s business deal would be completely ruined.
“Caden, look at my face—is it swollen?
I’m an actress, how could Chloe just hit me like that…” Vivian tugged at Caden’s suit jacket, whining coquettishly through her tears.
“Oh, my bad!
I’m so sorry I hit an actress,” Chloe said sarcastically.
“But if I get another chance, I’ll absolutely do it again.”
“Chloe Austin, you plagiarizing bitch!
You’re so full of shit!” Vivian stepped close to Chloe and hissed through gritted teeth right by her ear.
Chloe wasn’t the least bit provoked.
She grabbed Vivian’s hand and spoke to her in the exact same hushed, menacing tone.
“All you do is steal my ideas, so what does that make you?
A dog?
Even if I spout shit, people are still willing to listen.
It’s a pity for you, though—no matter how sweet you try to smell, you’re absolutely nothing without Caden.
Even a stray dog lives with more dignity than you.”
Chloe’s words instantly struck a nerve.
Vivian stumbled back several steps before turning and fleeing under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
Jensen and Caden remained locked in a tense stare-down.
The other guests, unable to hear their hushed exchange, eventually lost interest and dispersed.
“President Austin, before you go blindly backing Chloe up, you’d better think about saving your own skin,” Caden warned.
“Don’t embarrass yourself in front of all these executives just for her.”
“Although you two aren’t officially divorced yet, I don’t think you have the right to concern yourself with my affairs.
Wouldn’t you agree, President Sterling?” Jensen narrowed his eyes, already relishing the defeated look he knew Caden was about to wear.
“Jensen, who is this?”
A deep male voice sounded from behind Caden.
Instantly, Caden shifted his posture to appear more deferential.
“President Grant, you seem to be in a good mood.
Did something good just happen?”
“To be honest with you, nothing particularly good happened.
I just heard there was a bit of a commotion over here.” President Grant looked at Chloe and Jensen, as if waiting for them to speak up.
“Uncle Grant, take a good look,” Jensen said, completely ignoring Caden.
“Come to think of it, the last time you saw Chloe, she was probably still in high school, right?”
President Grant turned his attention to Chloe, studying her closely.
“Chloe!
You look exactly the same as you did in high school.
It’s been so many years—did you not miss your uncle?
Why haven’t you come to visit?
Didn’t you love wreaking havoc in my garden back in the day?”
President Grant let out a hearty laugh, and Chloe smiled back warmly.
“Uncle Grant, I’ll definitely visit your house more often from now on.
I just hope you plant plenty of flowers for me to ruin.”
“Of course, that won’t be a problem at all!
Back then, I didn’t have much money, and the garden was small.
But now, it’s enormous.
You can play around as much as you like.” President Grant seemed to still view Chloe as the mischievous child she used to be, his smile full of doting affection.
Caden’s expression, however, drastically changed.
“Jensen, bring Chloe over to see me later.
We’ll have a proper drink together,” President Grant said.
“Right now, I still have other guests to attend to.”
The three of them watched as President Grant turned and walked away.
“Chloe Austin, why is President Grant on such good terms with your family?
Didn’t he have a falling-out with the Austin family a long time ago?” Caden demanded.
“You’re a businessman, and you still haven’t figured out a basic business strategy like this?” Chloe stuck her tongue out at him.
Caden felt as if his brain had been struck by something heavy.
“So, you clearly could have helped me secure that project before, but you didn’t.
The Sterling Group was facing a crisis back then…” For some reason, his disgust for Chloe deepened even further.
“I trusted you had the ability to handle it yourself back then,” Chloe mocked.
“I didn’t expect you to be so incompetent.
I really don’t know how you managed to expand the Sterling Group all these years.
Did you rely entirely on your ability to make empty promises?”
Right after Chloe finished speaking, Jensen stepped in.
“Chloe, let’s go.
There are still a lot of guests over there whom you haven’t seen in a long time.
We should go say hello.” A charming smile curved his lips as Chloe linked her arm through his, and the two walked away together.
Caden could only watch helplessly as President Grant treated Jensen and Chloe so warmly, yet gave him nothing but a cold shoulder.
His heart sank.
In the beginning, he had tried searching for Chloe online, but for some reason, he hadn’t been able to find anything.
Now, however, photos of her from middle school and high school were readily available on the internet.
Although she was no longer as naive and youthful as a young girl, her facial features unmistakably belonged to the same Chloe.
Caden drew in a sharp breath.
Only now did he realize that Chloe had abandoned her family’s massive wealth and excellent living conditions just to marry him.
“Caden!
Chloe and Jensen humiliated me so much tonight!” Vivian’s voice suddenly broke his thoughts.
“Are you really not going to say a single word?
Are you just going to let Chloe slap me and get away with it?”