Now, by tacitly allowing Stella Sutton’s belongings to be moved in, Julian Sterling was brazenly showing everyone the utter humiliation and defeat of Mrs. Sterling. Even though she was going to divorce him, and even if Julian couldn’t wait to give his former future sister-in-law a proper status, Sophie Winslow would never allow them to humiliate her like this before they were even legally married!
She walked inside step by step. Maintaining a calm demeanor, she looked at the workers and pointed at the newly brought-in items one by one. "This furniture is quite valuable. I’m giving it all to you. You can get a good price for it even if you sell it secondhand. Please take it all out."
The workers had been hired for the job. Upon hearing such a great offer, they were naturally more than happy to listen to Sophie, the adult in charge, and cheerfully agreed on the spot.
Stanley Sterling couldn’t stop them in time. Furious, he pointed right at Sophie’s nose and cursed. "Who do you think you are? These are gifts from my mom to Stella! Do you think you have the right to make decisions here? Julian is going to throw you out on the streets!"
Sophie understood now. Behind this blatant disrespect was not only Julian, but also the instruction of her mother-in-law, Judith Jacobs.
She looked down at Stanley and enunciated every single word. "Fine. I’ll go to your school tomorrow and tell your classmates that you’re playing matchmaker for Julian and the fiancée of your other cousin. I’ll tell them that the Sterling family’s tradition is adultery and that you all take pride in moral bankruptcy. Since you like Stella so much, I’ll do the PR work for you and make you famous at school. How does that sound?"
Sophie’s words were incredibly harsh. She had never spoken to him with such severity before, always choosing to coax and pamper him instead. Stanley’s eyes widened in sheer shock. His face flushed bright red. "You really are a vicious, wicked woman! Don’t you dare!"
Sophie simply shrugged. See? Who said kids were just ignorant, and that children’s words carried no harm? The moment the knife poked his own skin, he finally knew how much it hurt. Why shouldn’t she stoop to a child’s level? Who made that rule?
The commotion was loud enough to alert the others in the house. Judith walked in with a cold expression. "What’s going on?" Frowning, she turned her stern gaze toward Sophie. "It’s almost ten o’clock. Why did you wake up so late today? The herbal meals aren’t even stewing yet. What am I supposed to eat? What is Stella supposed to eat?"
Just thinking about this made Sophie’s throat ache with a stifling lump. She was skilled in medicine. During the week she spent at home every month, she would meticulously regulate the health of the entire Sterling family. Every single herbal meal went through her hands, carefully tailored to balance the varying health conditions and preferences of the large household. She would wake up before five in the morning to busy herself in the kitchen, rushing to get everything arranged before she had to leave for work. She even had portions delivered back to the main estate for the first and second branches of the family, as well as the old madam. That included Stella’s portion, too.
In the past, Judith had always treated Stella exceptionally well. Sophie had naively assumed it was because Stella was highly capable, beautiful, and got along perfectly with her elders, thereby earning Judith’s affection. Looking back now, the signs had been there all along, hadn’t they?
Judith must have known early on that Stella was the woman Julian truly loved, which was why she showed her such extreme favoritism. After Stella’s fiancé went to prison, Judith had been overtly and covertly trying to play matchmaker. For an entire year, Sophie had been kept completely in the dark, dutifully serving her husband’s mistress. She was treated like a clown, strung along and played for a fool. They had never once respected her as a human being.
Sophie didn’t want to endure it anymore. She calmly delivered her final response. "If you can’t survive without me, then go ahead and die."
Judith’s face instantly darkened. She stared in absolute disbelief at Sophie’s retreating back. Even the nanny standing nearby gasped in shock. She wondered if Mrs. Sterling had gone crazy with jealousy over Miss Sutton. How could she dare to speak such incredibly disrespectful words to her mother-in-law?
Judith quickly snapped out of her daze and let out a cold sneer. "Such disgraceful behavior. Trying to win her husband’s heart with that little bit of tolerance is nothing but wishful thinking!"
After settling her luggage, Sophie went straight to the hospital where she had worked for the past four years and submitted her resignation. The only reason she had initially chosen this hospital with its average medical credentials was its close proximity to Julian’s Sterling Corp. Since she no longer wanted the man, there was no need to waste any more time staying here. She had never been a woman without a backup plan, and naturally, she had much better places to go.
She had plans to grab lunch with Ivy Hawthorne in the afternoon. Ivy had already sent her the location, which happened to be nearby.
As soon as Sophie walked into the restaurant, Ivy waved at her. She poured a cup of tea and handed it over. "Are you done with your resignation?"
Sophie nodded. "Just about."
"What was Julian’s attitude when you brought up the divorce?" Ivy couldn’t help but be a little curious about this. After all, considering that kind of man’s ego, he would probably feel that having Sophie initiate the divorce was an insult to his masculinity.
Sophie looked down at the wisps of white steam rising from her teacup and shook her head. "He didn’t make a stance."
He didn’t even sit down calmly to have a proper conversation about the divorce proceedings. Even when she had finally had enough and asked for a divorce, he could still continue to casually dismiss her. Speaking of which, men were truly ridiculous creatures. They could toss you aside, but you absolutely could not be the first to dump them.
Ivy ground her teeth in anger. "Is that man’s heart made of stone? Seven years! Any normal human being would have at least some kind of reaction!"
Sophie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Her ultimate failure and the utter humiliation of having her genuine heart trampled on were bare for all to see; there was no escaping it. Only she truly understood the bitter torment she had endured for the past seven years. Her tears had dried up a long time ago. She was no longer the pathetic woman who could only cling to life by begging for a tiny crumb of Julian’s affection.
Ivy then asked what had finally made Sophie so determined to get a divorce. Sophie didn’t hide anything, truthfully recounting the events that had transpired in the emergency room.
Ivy’s face turned green. She immediately slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "Those two shameless scumbags don’t even know how to hide it from people?! Does Stella have no shame? How long has her fiancé even been in prison, and she’s already... already doing such degenerate things with his cousin! And she even got pregnant?"
In all her years of living, this was the first time her eyes had been opened to such sheer audacity!
Knowing Ivy’s straightforward nature, Sophie realized that her friend’s voice had naturally risen in pitch out of sheer agitation. She immediately reached out to pull Ivy back down. Sophie wasn’t entirely clear on the exact details of what happened last night. A young nurse had simply passed on the gossip, and Sophie was only giving Ivy a general summary. She hadn’t even had the chance to examine Stella’s physical condition properly, as Stella looked down on her medical skills and was highly guarded against her.
But it was too late. Sophie heard a cold scoff come from behind her. She turned her head and saw a man standing right behind the decorative folding screen. She recognized him.
He was one of Julian’s few close friends, Evan York. The unabashed mockery and disgust in Evan’s eyes made it perfectly clear that he had heard every single word Ivy just said. Consequently, he assumed that Sophie was deliberately broadcasting this scandalous affair to the public.
"Sophie, I really didn’t expect your character to be this low," Evan sneered, his gaze sweeping over her from top to bottom. With a cold scoff, he strode upstairs, not giving Sophie a single chance to react.
He was acting as if she were the wicked villain who had committed a heinous crime. Sophie couldn’t help but frown.
Ivy was instantly enraged. "Who the hell does he think he is! They aren’t even ashamed of doing such dirty deeds, yet they’re afraid of people talking about it? We should hang up a giant banner downstairs at Sterling Corp and broadcast it to the world! I’ll consider it a loss if we don’t crash his company’s stock!"
Sophie knew that was impossible. Unless, of course, she no longer wanted to survive in the country. The Sterling family’s methods were ruthless, and until she had firmly established her own footing, she couldn’t afford to offend them too deeply. After all, she knew she lacked the power and influence to fight them right now. Moreover, she still had to protect Lydia. She wasn’t foolish enough to go that far.
She had no intention of paying any mind to Evan.
Upstairs.
After pushing the door open, Evan walked in with an icy expression on his face. A circle of people was already seated inside the elegant private room. At the head of the table sat none other than Julian.
His posture exuded a noble elegance, naturally radiating an imposing aura even in his quiet stillness. He slightly turned his gaze over. Sitting right next to him was Stella.
She looked at Evan with a faint smile. "Who made you so upset?"