By the time Sophie Winslow arrived at the Sterling villa, heavy winter snow was swirling through the air.
She brought a gust of freezing wind with her as she stepped into Madam Sterling’s courtyard. Upon entering the main hall, she immediately spotted Judith Jacobs and Barbara Coleman.
Judith shot Sophie a cold glance, still harboring a grudge over the gross disrespect she had shown the other day by repeatedly telling them to drop dead.
"Sophie Winslow! Let’s see how you explain yourself! You were petty and jealous, deliberately smearing Julian and the others. Now Madam Sterling has seen that leaked post and fallen ill entirely out of anger because of you!" Barbara sneered, pinning all the blame squarely on Sophie.
Sophie couldn’t help but frown slightly. She looked at Barbara, who was so eager to condemn her. "Instead of blaming the perpetrator of this scandal, you come making trouble for me, the victim. Aunt Barbara, do you have a brain?"
Besides, since they knew perfectly well to hide the situation from Madam Sterling, yet failed to scrub the leaked post from the internet, who was the one maliciously fueling the scandal?
"How can you speak so viciously?" Barbara slammed her hands on the table and stood up. "Contradicting your elders—do you want to have your tongue cut out in hell?!"
"If you can’t stand the sight of me, you’re welcome to die before I do."
Her patience long since depleted, Sophie had no desire to listen to Barbara’s clamor. She walked past the woman expressionlessly to check on Madam Sterling in the inner room.
Barbara was so enraged by Sophie’s remark about dying first that she froze, unable to formulate a reaction. When had the old Sophie ever dared to speak to the elders of the Sterling Family like this? Hadn’t she always been submissive and at their beck and call?
Still fuming, Barbara lost control of her emotions, pointing at Sophie’s back and shouting, "Aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?! You are incompetent and immoral, and that Stella Sutton is a promiscuous tramp, too! Neither of you is any good!"
Sophie was tired of listening. She stopped and turned around, only for her gaze to unexpectedly collide with the man already standing in the doorway.
Julian Sterling had arrived at some unknown time. A black overcoat was draped over his arm, and half-hidden in the dim light, his eyes looked cold and deep.
Barbara also noticed Julian, and her words abruptly ceased. Her previous tirade instantly turned into nervous silence. Not only had she hit Sophie last night, but today she had also scolded Sophie and Stella Sutton mercilessly—and Julian had coincidentally overheard it all.
Sophie didn’t matter; Barbara knew Julian didn’t care about her. But Stella... Barbara couldn’t help but nervously observe Julian’s expression.
Sophie knew Julian had heard everything. She withdrew her gaze, knocked on the door, and walked straight into Madam Sterling’s bedroom.
Judith sipped her tea like an outsider watching a play, a meaningful look flashing in her eyes.
Julian didn’t lash out at Barbara. Stepping inside with his long legs, he glanced sideways at the ancestral home’s butler. "Is the doctor here?"
The elderly Butler Fletcher hurriedly replied, "He’s been in there for a while. It shouldn’t be a major issue."
Julian nodded. He didn’t go in, quietly taking a seat in the hall to wait.
After entering, Sophie waited for the Sterling Family’s private doctor to finish his examination before stepping forward to take the old lady’s pulse herself. It wasn’t a severe problem; it was just that at her advanced age, emotional distress inevitably took a toll on her physical health. She would write a prescription later, and after two doses of medicine, Madam Sterling would be fine.
After the family doctor left, Madam Sterling held Sophie’s hand. "Sophie, you’ve been deeply wronged."
Sophie knew the older woman was referring to the leaked post. "I haven’t been wronged." She merely felt disgusted by the whole ordeal.
Madam Sterling sighed. "I didn’t expect things to get this bad. I understand how upset you must be. This is hard for the Sterling Family to accept too. I will give you some compensation—houses, cars, cash, whatever you want."
Sophie was a woman harboring secrets, and she had no desire to entangle herself further with the Sterling Family. "There’s no need. I’m truly fine."
Madam Sterling looked at her, her tone slowly shifting. "After all, you and Julian have been married for seven years. You’ve been together since you were young. You grew up without a mother or father’s love, Sophie. The Sterling Family is practically your home. Can I ask a favor of you?"
Hearing the phrase about lacking a mother and father’s love, Sophie unconsciously rubbed her fingers together. "Go ahead."
"Could you tell Julian that you bringing up divorce was just you throwing a temper tantrum?"
Sophie frowned subconsciously.
Madam Sterling tightened her grip on Sophie’s hand. "I’m not asking you to scrap the divorce. What I mean is, before you remarry, please don’t reveal to Stella Sutton that you and Julian are getting a divorce.
"I will arrange a good marriage for you as soon as possible. The family background and character definitely won’t be lacking. You can marry into the family and enjoy a good life early on.
"But for a large family like the Sterlings, that boy Charles will eventually be released. If there is a rift between brothers, the household will never know peace. Once he rehabilitates well, he’ll be let out early. By then, who knows? Stella Sutton might not be able to wait for you and Julian to finalize your divorce and could rekindle her old romance with Charles."
Sophie hadn’t expected Madam Sterling to take this stance. She could understand her concerns. However...
"Madam Sterling, I don’t want to wait anymore."
She didn’t want to waste any more time in her agonizing marriage with Julian. Furthermore, Lydia’s existence was a secret; finalizing the divorce quickly was her top priority. Naturally, she was unwilling to agree to Madam Sterling’s plea to wait just a little longer.
Seeing Sophie’s firm resolve, Madam Sterling sighed softly. "About the divorce, have you and Julian both thought it through with no objections?"
Sophie recalled that Julian had already received the divorce agreement. Logically speaking, he should have read it by now. He hadn’t spoken to her about it afterward, which she guessed meant he agreed to all the terms inside. He had given his tacit consent. She nodded. "He agrees."
"Then Sophie, you must keep it a secret from Stella Sutton for now. Your mother-in-law and the second and third branches of the family won’t know about you and Julian getting a divorce. Only the three of us will know. As for Julian, I will threaten him with my life, forbidding him from revealing the divorce to Stella within this year."
She disdained Stella Sutton’s fickle nature, but she also knew this matter had to be resolved through indirect, tactical means. Being too forceful could easily backfire.
Sophie thought about it and agreed. As long as it didn’t impede her divorce, anything was fine. Anyway, she only needed to wait out the three-month cooling-off period to receive her divorce certificate. Everything else was for the Sterling Family to worry about and resolve.
Just as she walked out of Madam Sterling’s room, she ran head-on into Julian, who was about to push the door open.
Julian lowered his eyes to look at her. "How is Grandmother?"
"Why don’t you go in and see for yourself?"
These words made Julian’s eyebrows twitch slightly. He kept his gaze lowered, observing Sophie’s impassive expression.
Sophie felt they were standing entirely too close. The aggressively cold, woody scent of fir on him was extremely pleasant; she used to be utterly obsessed with it. Only now, faintly mixed into that crisp fragrance was a trace of a sweet feminine perfume.
In the past, after they shared a bed—even just after occasional intimacy—Julian would wash away every trace of her scent from his body and immediately change into fresh clothes. She had thought he was a neat freak. Now it seemed he simply didn’t set boundaries for Stella Sutton.
She began to feel a wave of nauseating disgust. Seamlessly backing out of Julian’s personal space, she walked away without a backward glance.
Julian narrowed his eyes slightly, sweeping a glance over Sophie’s retreating back. Without another word, he pushed the door open and entered.
Seeing him, Madam Sterling waved her hand. "Come here, let’s talk."
Noting that the older woman’s complexion was decent, Julian raised an eyebrow and went over to sit down.
"I hear you and Sophie are getting a divorce?"
Julian picked up an orange to peel, his tone indifferent at the end. "We aren’t."
Sophie had indeed brought it up to him. He hadn’t bothered to pacify her emotions that day and had bluntly told her to prepare the divorce agreement herself. But to this day, he hadn’t received it. Sophie hadn’t taken any actual action. As always, she had let the matter drop, acting as if she had never kicked up a fuss in the first place. Therefore, it didn’t count as getting a divorce.
Madam Sterling’s voice abruptly caught, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. She stared at Julian’s expression, which didn’t look like he was lying, for a long moment. "...You aren’t getting a divorce?"