Sophie’s mind completely blanked for a few seconds. She honestly hadn’t expected the old madam to be serious about finding her a second husband—and for it to be put on the agenda so quickly, no less.
"Grandma, I really have no intention of doing that right now," Sophie said, rubbing her temples. She found it hard to stomach this overly enthusiastic attempt for her own good.
"But I’ve already made the appointment for you. Just treat it as meeting a friend first. Expanding your social circle is a good thing; we can talk about the rest later, alright?" the old madam patiently coaxed. "Tonight at eight. Dress up nicely." Fearing Sophie would refuse again, the old madam hastily ended the call.
Sophie was rendered speechless. She stared at her phone screen, finding the situation hard to describe. The old madam’s way of compensating her on Julian Sterling’s behalf was a bit too aggressive. She checked the time; it was six-thirty. After some thought, she decided to go anyway. At the very least, she needed to make things clear so as not to put everyone in a difficult position.
The location the old madam had arranged was The Empyrean Club, the most magnificent establishment in Kingsford. It rivaled the glamorous, money-drenched entertainment cities of Aurelia. The electronic ticket indicated the fifth floor, which featured private rooms for dining and watching performances.
After memorizing the room number, Sophie walked to the door, double-checked it, and knocked. There was no response. Either they hadn’t heard her, or the person hadn’t arrived yet. Without overthinking it, Sophie pushed the door open just a crack.
Her gaze fell into the room, and she instantly froze. There were already people inside.
Standing before the massive floor-to-ceiling windows with one hand in his pocket was Julian. His profile was tall and straight. Facing him, Stella Sutton stood on her tiptoes, adjusting his tie. As their eyes met, Stella slowly leaned in, offering her lips to his.
Even though she already knew about their illicit affair, witnessing the moment they were about to kiss with her own eyes still left Sophie’s mind blank for a second. She forgot how to react. In their seven years of marriage, there had once been love, and remnants of old habits still lingered. Even though she was pulling herself out of this quagmire, the ingrained conditioning of being husband and wife for so many years flared into a sudden, sharp ache in her chest.
In a panic, she tried to close the gap in the door. But in the very next second, a pair of small hands shoved the door hard.
A childish yet furious voice rang out, "You bad woman! Why are you peeking at Stella and Julian on their date?!"
Sophie looked down and saw a young boy, only a few years old, standing in front of her. It was obvious the boy had been spoiled rotten. He had a chubby body like a little cannonball, and his face was full of arrogance.
The little boy’s voice was loud. The people inside the private room heard the commotion, and the door swung wide open.
Julian remained an image of noble aloofness, his gaze fixed on Sophie’s pale face. "Why are you here?" He showed no obvious anger, acting like an outsider. He didn’t even show a hint of panic at being caught red-handed in an extramarital affair.
The door to the adjacent room also opened. Evan York leaned against the doorframe, looking lazily at Sophie. He raised an eyebrow. "You didn’t follow us here, did you?" The words sounded like a joke, but his malicious speculation was entirely undisguised.
Stella stood by Julian’s side and reached out toward the little boy. She sneered at Sophie. "This is a private gathering today. Is it appropriate for you to be here?"
"Stella, is she that bad woman who stole your place?" Despite being only five or six years old, Seth Sutton was quite large due to his chubbiness. He made a face at Sophie as he spoke.
Stella rubbed Seth’s head and gave a doting smile, not explicitly nodding.
Evan glanced at Sophie, wanting to see her get angry. But Sophie showed no reaction whatsoever. Although he felt that a child as young as Seth wasn’t being very polite, given all the things Sophie had done in the past, didn’t this count as fighting fire with fire?
Noting this, Evan teased, "Seth is so smart."
Seth grew even more smug. He grabbed Julian’s hand and looked at Sophie with triumphant arrogance. Julian clearly had no intention of correcting the child, continuing to stare coldly at Sophie.
In this short span of time, Sophie had figured out what was going on. The old madam must have lied to her. The person she was supposed to meet wasn’t a new friend, but Julian. The old madam wanted her and Julian to foster their relationship and spared no effort to play matchmaker. Unfortunately, the old madam hadn’t anticipated that Julian would bring Stella and her brother along today. He hadn’t left a place for her at all.
Sophie didn’t look at Stella, nor did she pay any mind to Julian. She cared even less about this harmonious picture of what looked like a family of three. She bent down to meet Seth’s round, chubby face. "That’s right, I’m a bad woman. But you’re fat and ugly, and your genetics are terrible. When you grow up, no girls will ever like you. Just like your sister, you’ll end up collecting trash when you’re older."
Even she herself felt it. She really sounded like a villain, shattering a child’s innocent world and destroying the harmony of someone else’s family.
Stella’s lips pressed into a tight line, her expression turning completely icy. How could she not hear that Sophie’s words had insulted all three of them!
Seth didn’t fully understand, but a young boy his age still had a strong sense of pride. Hearing that he was fat, ugly, and unlovable, his face immediately flushed red, and he burst into angry tears. He wailed at the top of his lungs. Tugging at Julian’s hand, he threw a tantrum and babbled incoherently for support. "Hit her! Hit her! I want to make her kneel down and apologize to me... Waaaaah..."
Julian lowered his long eyelashes, looking quietly at Sophie. "Arguing with a child. How old are you?"
Accusations. More accusations. It was as if she deserved to be hurled abuse at for no reason. As if she was born to be trampled on, her dignity unworthy of any consideration.
A thorn pierced Sophie’s chest. She looked at him. When people were truly angry, they sometimes wanted to laugh, and she did exactly that. "Aren’t you trying to join their family? Since you’re failing to teach him manners, shouldn’t you thank me for helping out?"
Perhaps due to her unreasonableness, Julian’s gaze grew colder.
Stella held Seth, who was still wailing himself hoarse, and said with displeasure, "Sophie, he’s just a child. What kind of accomplishment is it to take your anger out on a kid?" As she spoke, Stella looked at the phone in Sophie’s hand and suddenly added, "I suspect you were just secretly taking photos of us. Please let us check your phone."
Sophie was almost amused by the woman’s sheer audacity. "Imposs—"
Before she could even finish her sentence or react, the phone was abruptly snatched from her hand. Julian had walked over to her side at some point. Holding Sophie’s phone, he inputted her passcode with absolute fluidity, unlocking it without the slightest hesitation or delay.
Watching this scene unfold, Sophie felt as though she had been drenched in ice water. Her entire body felt as though it was cracking inch by inch from the chill. A wave of shame and humiliation washed over her, as if she had been stripped naked in public.
She had never had any secrets from Julian; she was completely transparent before him. Whether it was her phone, her computer, or her bank cards, almost all her passwords were set to his birthday. But as for Julian, she knew absolutely nothing. He never revealed a single detail of his life to her, always guarding it strictly.
Only at this moment did she realize how utterly pathetic she had been all those years! Because she had been too busy these past few days, or perhaps because she was simply too accustomed to those numbers, she hadn’t thought to change it immediately. Right now, in the midst of their divorce, having Julian unlock her phone using his birthday... she felt there could be no greater insult.
Evan also saw the numbers Julian had entered. He glanced at Sophie with a smirk. "Miss Winslow, you really shouldn’t be so head over heels in love."
It was just as they had said. Sophie’s true nature was being hopelessly lovestruck. Even if she had occasionally thrown a tantrum lately, it was merely an illusion and a tactic. Julian paid it no mind. He was long accustomed to Sophie treating him as her entire world, as if her sole mission in life was to revolve around him.
Sophie no longer cared about snapping back. Because she had photos and messages from Lydia on her phone! She absolutely could not let Julian see them right now!
Julian casually tapped into her photo album. The thumbnails were too small to see clearly, but a few of them looked strikingly like a rather large... child?
Before he could get a better look, a faint scent of oranges wafted toward him. Sophie’s heart clenched tight at the sight. Throwing caution to the wind, she lunged forward, swiftly snatched the phone from Julian’s grasp, and—as if to permanently eliminate the threat—smashed it violently against the floor!
SMASH!
The phone screen instantly shattered into pieces. It was almost unrecognizable.
Sophie’s stress-induced reaction plunged the room into a dead silence.
When Stella finally recovered, she let out a light chuckle. "Weren’t we giving you a chance to prove your innocence by letting us look? By doing this, aren’t you just proving you have a guilty conscience?"