Chapter 4The Wolf I Raised

At that time, Julian had just arrived at the Sterling family. At twelve years old, he had suffered a lot.

His father was a gambler who disappeared after owing a huge debt. His mother remarried immediately, leaving Julian to grow up alone and helpless.

The day I met him, I happened to close a big deal, successfully shutting everyone else up and becoming the head of the Sterling family. So, in a good mood, I meddled and saved Julian, who was beaten half to death for stealing money.

I asked him:

"Why steal money?"

He was stunned for a moment, seemingly embarrassed, his face slightly red. He pursed his lips and spoke after a long time:

"Because I was hungry. Restaurants don't hire child labor, and I couldn't beat the homeless for trash cans. I was so hungry that I couldn't stand it, so I thought of stealing money."

I had nothing to say. Because I had never lived a hard life, I couldn't understand. But I was in a good mood that day, so I simply took him home, treating it as a good deed for the day, accumulating some virtue for myself, striving to be born into a rich and good family in the next life.

Getting along gradually, I found Julian to be very considerate. No matter how late I came back from social engagements, he would get up and thoughtfully prepare honey water for me and massage my temples.

Later, a psychologist friend told me that Julian was deliberately pleasing me, probably because he had been abandoned by his parents before and was afraid of being discarded again.

So, when I came home at 3 a.m. again, and Julian heard the noise and ran downstairs, I stopped him: "Don't need you, go to sleep."

Julian's face turned pale instantly, and tears suddenly fell in big drops, looking pitiful and fragile.

I was stunned on the spot. I just thought of that friend's words and wanted him not to deliberately please me anymore. I didn't know if my tone was too fierce or if this kid thought of something else. Anyway, he shrank at the top of the stairs, crying pitifully.

I immediately scratched my hair and walked over, patting his shoulder somewhat clumsily. I'm not good at comforting people. After racking my brains, I said to him:

"Not chasing you away. You don't need to be so cautious and cramped, nor do you need to please me. Don't worry, as long as you do your own things well, I won't abandon you."

He looked at me with red eyes, a hint of choking in his voice: "Then if you get married in the future and have children, will you not want me anymore? If the little aunt doesn't like me, will you also hate me and then abandon me?"

That year, I was twenty-two, just the right age for marriage. Many people who wanted to climb up to the Sterling family tried to introduce partners to me.

For me, marriage or love had to be ranked after my career.

Although the Sterling family was strong enough, it wasn't without rivals. For me, the most important thing was to continuously expand the power of the Sterling family, making other families unable to catch up, making people tremble just hearing the name "Damian Sterling."

At that time, I only had a career in my eyes. Illusory things like love were not within my consideration at all.

So when he asked that, to coax him and stop him from crying, I promised him:

"Don't worry, there won't be a little aunt."

He raised his teary eyes and asked me:

"Then in the future, will it be just the two of us living together?"

I thought Julian was young and had been abandoned, so he lacked security. When he grew up, he naturally wouldn't be so dependent on me, so I nodded.

But I didn't expect that after his feelings changed, this casual promise would become a sharp blade stabbing me, making even my defense seem pale and weak.

I watched his face getting darker because he didn't get an answer for a long time, chuckled lightly, and answered:

"Yes."

Sure enough, Julian went crazy again. His eyes turned red with anger, and he punished me unrestrainedly all night. He didn't let me go until the sky turned slightly white.