"Yes. Are you hoping for a divorce?" Julian Sterling maintained his nonchalant attitude.
The old madam immediately caught on and dropped the subject of Sophie Winslow’s resolute decision to divorce. She scoffed coldly. "Of course not. I’m warning you—if you dare to divorce Sophie, I will never allow you to marry Stella Sutton. Whatever conflicts you two have, resolve them behind closed doors!"
"Alright." Julian handed the old madam a slice of orange, a careless smirk playing on his lips.
The old madam could tell Julian was just placating her, but she couldn’t be bothered to nag him further. After all, she was nearly eighty years old. Sophie’s determination to divorce wasn’t fake. Furthermore, Sophie had explicitly stated that Julian knew and agreed to the divorce. Yet, his attitude suggested he was completely unaware of it. Her sharp intuition told her that some misunderstanding had led to this situation, but she had no intention of exposing it.
It wasn’t a bad thing if Julian didn’t think Sophie was dead set on a divorce. It would be best if they could resolve their differences and continue living together. But if they truly couldn’t... her promise to find Sophie a new husband was no joke. She would settle Sophie down first, then inform Julian about the divorce. The timing would be perfect.
It made no difference whether Julian found out sooner or later; he would definitely agree to the divorce. When the time came, neither of them would be negatively affected.
Sophie didn’t leave the ancestral home immediately. She still had things to do. She assisted the family doctor in prescribing some medicine for the old madam and handed it over to the kitchen to be brewed. During this process, she texted Ivy Hawthorne.
"Draft a ’Voluntary Relinquishment of Custody Agreement’ for me. As soon as possible."
She hadn’t brought her laptop, so she couldn’t list the relevant clauses clearly herself. She had made this decision the moment she received the call summoning her to the ancestral home. Relying solely on the divorce agreement didn’t feel safe enough. The one they signed seven years ago contained no clauses regarding children. To prevent future troubles, she had to proactively eliminate the risk.
Ivy was highly efficient. In less than twenty minutes, she sent the document over. "What’s going on? Are you giving this to Julian? If he sees this agreement, won’t he suspect something about the child?"
Sophie went to the Sterling family’s communal tea room and printed out the agreement.
"I’ll find a way to make him sign it."
She didn’t want to take any risks. Even less did she want to tangle with Julian over Lydia in the future. To protect her own rights, there was nothing wrong with being a little ruthless. To get Julian to sign this relinquishment agreement, Sophie chose to stay at the old residence a little longer.
The Sterling family’s ancestral estate covered nearly ten thousand square meters. Generations had lived here, and she and Julian also had their own courtyard. Upon returning to it, she sat in the living room and waited. She didn’t return to the master bedroom, nor did she touch any of his or the Sterling family’s belongings. After the recent door-knocking incident, she had completely detached herself from the role of Julian’s wife.
Sophie waited until she grew drowsy. Julian still hadn’t returned by the early hours of the morning. She guessed that he must have left again for business. Over the past seven years, he had never reported his whereabouts or schedule to her, and she had grown so accustomed to it that she no longer bothered to ask.
Because of the old madam’s illness, Sophie spent the night in a guest room. Naturally, Julian never came back that night. She no longer cared where he was staying.
Packing the relinquishment agreement into her bag, she passed by one of the courtyards. She heard the sound of things being smashed and thrown from inside, accompanied by Barbara Coleman’s furious, grief-stricken roars. "Why is this happening? How could Charles inexplicably sustain severe injuries and a broken leg in prison? How did he get hurt?"
Sophie cast a suspicious glance in that direction. Charles Sterling got hurt in prison? And to the point of breaking a leg? If not cared for properly, it might affect his mobility in the future. After all, it was a prison, unlike the Sterling family where he could be provided with a superior environment and optimal conditions for recovery. Barbara doted on her son as if he were her own life; this incident was no different from taking half her life away.
She was just about to leave when she heard Barbara’s breathless wailing. "It’s Julian! It must be him!"
Sophie’s footsteps paused.
"Just because I said one unpleasant thing about Stella Sutton yesterday, he immediately retaliated for her! Julian is a devil! When he was kidnapped all those years ago, why didn’t he just die out there..."
The rest of her words were muffled by the servants. However, Sophie heard it with absolute clarity. A piercing chill seeped into her bones. She pulled her collar tighter, but it did little to ward off the cold.
So that was it. She wanted to laugh, yet she felt it made perfect sense. When she was slapped by Barbara for no reason, Julian had seen it with his own eyes but showed absolutely no reaction. No concern, no heartache, no support. Yet, just because of a single derogatory remark Barbara made about Stella, Julian was so displeased and felt such deep heartache for Stella. He had avenged Stella overnight, not only retaliating against Barbara but also dealing with his former "rival in love."
Sophie slowly withdrew her gaze. She shook her head with a self-deprecating mock. Gripping her bag tightly, she walked resolutely toward the garage.
The old madam’s condition had largely stabilized the previous night, so she planned to go find Julian to sign the agreement.
As soon as she reached the garage, she saw the driver opening a car door for Julian from a distance. Julian strode out of the main house, answering a phone call as he walked. A faint smile traced his lips, looking particularly striking on his handsome, refined face. In seven years, she had rarely seen him wear such an expression. She didn’t even have to think to know who he was on the phone with.
So he had stayed at the old residence all along last night. Yet... he refused to sleep in the courtyard he shared with her?
Understanding flashed in Sophie’s eyes. So Julian was avoiding her? Was he already so unwilling to be under the same roof as her? Just to "keep himself pure" and show his loyalty to Stella?
Perhaps Sophie’s gaze was too burning. Before getting into the car, Julian tilted his chin slightly and looked over. But it was only for a fleeting second before he decisively got in. The car glided smoothly out of the courtyard, drifting further and further away.
Sophie didn’t even have time to communicate with him, let alone find an opportunity to have him sign this crucial agreement. She tipped her head back, took a deep breath, and quickly got into her own car, no longer caring whether Julian was avoiding her or not. She had to find a way to make him sign the agreement; she couldn’t afford to waste a single second. She had no time left to wallow in self-pity.
It took quite some time to arrive at Sterling Corp. She was stuck in the morning rush hour traffic for a long while.
Entering the lobby of the building, Sophie walked up to the reception desk and asked politely, "Could you trouble yourself to call the CEO’s office? Just tell them I am..."
She hesitated for a moment on how to announce herself. To see Julian sooner, she ultimately said, "Mrs. Sterling."
After all, she hadn’t officially obtained the divorce certificate yet. For the sake of efficiency, there was no need to be overly scrupulous.
A hint of probing flashed in the receptionist’s eyes, but she still smiled and said, "Please wait a moment."
Over the years, there had always been rumors about Mr. Sterling being married. However, no one knew what Mrs. Sterling actually looked like, leading them to assume that their boss’s early marriage was merely a rumor. Then again, the Sterling family had many branches. As for which Mrs. Sterling this was, it was anyone’s guess.
The CEO’s office answered quickly. "Special Assistant Quinn, Mrs. Sterling is downstairs and wants to see Mr. Sterling. What do you think?"
Since Sophie was standing close, she practically heard Clara Quinn’s voice drifting from the receiver. "Mrs. Sterling? Do you mean Miss Sutton?"
"Miss Sutton doesn’t need an appointment. She can come straight up," Clara added.
The receptionist inwardly scoffed that just anyone dared to pretend to be Mrs. Sterling these days, but she maintained her smile. "It’s not Miss Sutton..."
Sophie truly hadn’t expected Stella’s privileges to be so blatantly flaunted. Even before Julian had completely finalized his divorce, Stella was already coming and going throughout the company as Mrs. Sterling. She kept her expression blank and spoke directly into the phone. "It’s me."
Clara fell silent for a moment after hearing the voice clearly. Seemingly afraid that Sophie might say something inappropriate, she immediately said, "Let her up."
Sophie took the elevator up to the 48th floor. The CEO’s office occupied the entire floor. The secretarial pool was on the left, and Julian’s office was on the right.
As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she saw Clara standing at the door with a strictly business-like demeanor. Clara shot Sophie a sideways glance. "Mr. Sterling’s meeting isn’t over yet. You can wait in his office first."
Sophie ignored Clara’s slighting attitude.
Upon entering the office, Clara spoke up again. "Please do not touch anything in Mr. Sterling’s office casually, and do not wander around. Do not deliberately reveal your identity to anyone. Mr. Sterling dislikes presumptive behavior. I’m giving you these reminders to save you from embarrassing yourself."
Over the years, Sophie had hardly ever visited the company, mainly because Mr. Sterling didn’t allow it. For her to suddenly barge in today and even call herself Mrs. Sterling downstairs? It crossed the line! Clara couldn’t help but issue some veiled warnings to prevent anyone from questioning Stella’s identity when she came over later.
Sophie watched Clara’s words and actions expressionlessly. It was nothing more than Clara, as someone close to Julian, witnessing his absolute favoritism toward Stella, which gave her the audacity to slight the original wife like this.
"Julian Sterling certainly knows how to train his dogs. Do you need me to praise you too?" Sophie asked, looking at her.
Clara’s eyes widened in astonishment. In the past, Sophie had always been incredibly polite to her just to get some information about Julian. How dare she act like this now...
Footsteps sounded from behind. The door was pushed open.
Sophie looked up, meeting Julian’s gaze as he walked in. He wasn’t particularly surprised by her arrival, merely looking indifferent. "Do you need something?"
Sophie unconsciously tightened her grip on her bag strap, forcing herself to remain calm and composed without showing any cracks. Pulling the agreement out of her bag, she said, "I need you to sign this for me."