Sophie Winslow emerged from the room with a medical book in hand, happening to catch the scene.
Julian Sterling’s gaze was slightly lowered, his eyes fixed on the envelope containing the divorce agreement she had signed seven years ago. Only then did she realize that he was just now noticing the surprise she had left for him. Even when it came to their divorce, she was expected to sensibly prepare everything and wait for him to dole out a fraction of his time to look it over when he wasn’t so busy.
Since she confirmed that he had received the divorce agreement, she didn’t linger for a moment or say a single word. She simply turned and left the bedroom.
Julian glanced at Sophie’s retreating back, his thick brows knitting slightly. He picked up the file folder and examined it front and back. Since it was in their home, it could only have been left there by Sophie.
He was just about to open it when his phone rang again.
Seeing Stella Sutton’s name on the screen, Julian tossed the folder casually back onto the desk without hesitation and strode out of the room.
Ms. Coleman came in, saw the folder, and then looked at Julian, who was about to leave. "Sir, aren’t you going to look at that? The Mrs. asked me to remind you to read it."
Julian looked down, swiping his screen to answer Stella’s call. His deep, cold voice sounded unconcerned. "Put it away for now. Her matters are never urgent."
Sophie walked up to her car. Just as she opened the door, she heard hurried footsteps behind her. Seeing that it was Julian on the phone, she figured he must have read the divorce agreement and wanted to ask if he had any objections. After all, seven years ago, Julian hadn’t known he was signing a divorce agreement and was completely unaware of its contents.
"Did you finish reading the div—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Julian briskly walked right past her, not even noticing she was speaking. Instead, she could hear his patient, soothing tone. "If you have a cold, you need to rest well. I’m heading over right now."
She couldn’t think of a second person who could elicit such patience from a man as cold and aloof as Julian Sterling.
The Bentley roared away right before Sophie’s eyes, stirring up the biting chill of the harsh winter.
Sophie brushed a hand against her numb cheek. She didn’t know if it hurt from the biting wind, or if the stark contrast had just slapped her with an invisible hand. It stung even more than Barbara Coleman’s slap. She had been struck right in front of him, yet he hadn’t offered a single word of concern. But Stella merely had a slight cold, and it was enough for him to rush out tirelessly into the dead of night.
She used to think that a man like Julian would rarely let anyone or anything disturb his peace of mind. But there were exceptions to everything... It just took years of her youth to finally confirm that she wasn’t that exception.
The line between being loved and unloved was always so clear. Pathetically, she had spent the past years trapped in a cage of love, stubbornly trying to verify it over and over again.
Sophie stopped looking at the fading silhouette of Julian’s car and instead turned back to look at the marital home where she had lived as the hostess for seven years.
A few seconds later, she got into her car without a trace of nostalgia.
After seven long years, she was glad to finally fly out of this heart-piercing cage. From now on, she was only Sophie Winslow. She was only Lydia Hawthorne’s mother. She would never again be someone else’s insignificant accessory.
Ivy Hawthorne brought Sophie breakfast bright and early the next morning. The new place only held some of Sophie’s clothes; the rest of the daily necessities would have to be gradually purchased later. With no pots or pans in the kitchen, Sophie could only wait to be fed.
While waiting for Sophie to wash up, Ivy scrolled through her Instagram and made a major discovery. "Julian took an overnight flight to the Southern Province last night?"
Sophie walked over, sat down, and opened a container of porridge. "I don’t know."
Ivy showed her phone to Sophie. "Look, Finn Lockwood posted this on his Instagram."
Sophie glanced at it. It was a photo Finn had posted near midnight the night before.
The caption read: "The lethal power of a true love. Miss Sutton’s immune system just took a slight dip from pulling an all-nighter for work, and someone’s heart ached so much that they flew overnight to the Southern Province, spending a million dollars to buy a century-old rare herb for her recovery~"
In the picture, several people were raising their glasses for the camera. Sophie instantly recognized Julian’s hand. Beside it, a woman’s elegant hand was almost pressed against his—an exceptionally intimate and ambiguous gesture. It seemed they had spent the entire night partying together.
Sophie instinctively touched her cheek. When she had been slapped by Barbara Coleman yesterday, she didn’t see Julian make such a big fuss. Yet a mere dip in Stella’s immune system had him so anxious that he threw away a million dollars on a whim.
The depth of feelings between people couldn’t be measured by time. She was a living, breathing example of that.
Ivy rolled her eyes, at a loss for how to even insult them. "So Julian actually knows how to dote on someone. He and that woman are simply..."
Sophie only took one look before she lowered her head to continue eating her porridge, completing Ivy’s sentence for her. "...an adulterer and his mistress."
Sophie spoke like an objective outsider, though her choice of words was quite bold.
Ivy choked for a moment, looking at Sophie with pleasant surprise. "Are you really serious about getting a divorce? Have you completely made up your mind?"
Otherwise, given Sophie’s usually dignified and poised nature, she would never speak like that.
Sophie was momentarily speechless. So even Ivy had doubts about her actually going through with the divorce. It just went to show how much she had compromised and humbled herself in her marriage to Julian.
"I swear, it’s true." She raised three fingers in a solemn vow.
Ivy finally relaxed. Both delighted and heartbroken, she pinched Sophie’s fair, soft cheeks affectionately to comfort her.
She had known Sophie for almost ten years. Back when Sophie was about to marry Julian and become the most envied Mrs. Sterling, Ivy had been genuinely happy for her.
When it came to the most talked-about scion of a prominent family in the country, it was unquestionably Julian Sterling. As the hand-picked heir to the Sterling Family, he had swiftly expanded into various sectors after taking over part of their operations. From healthcare and real estate to AI and energy, he blossomed in almost every field and had never suffered a single defeat. Any random investment of his easily secured the top spot.
With his unmatched abilities, he left the competition in the dust—the most outstanding and unrivaled figure among the younger generation. His looks were of a star-like caliber, deeply admired by those in their circle. He was extraordinarily handsome with an imposing presence. Even though his temperament was as cold as ice, he possessed an almost demonic charm that made him the center of attention wherever he went.
Such a prominent figure had married Sophie at a young age. Ivy had once thought Sophie had struck gold.
But as time passed, she suddenly realized the truth. He was indeed gold. Fool’s gold, that is! His ability to disgust people was practically a god-given talent! He had ruthlessly ground Sophie down to this state!
"Let’s not talk about him anymore. I’m planning to head over to my senior’s place to report for duty in a bit," Sophie said, not wanting to continue the topic of how Julian would throw away a fortune and shower Stella with devotion. It ruined her appetite.
Ivy slapped her forehead. "Then I’ll drive you over later."
Sophie hadn’t studied a medical-related major in college. She had majored in artificial intelligence. As for her profound medical skills, she had learned them during the ten years she was abandoned in a small countryside village.
After resigning from the hospital, she had received an invitation from her senior, Peter Preston. Peter was now the boss of a digital medical pharmaceutical enterprise named Helios. Seven years ago, the company shot to fame overnight thanks to a digital medical software called "Digital Chinese Medicine," which single-handedly propelled the once-unknown company to a public listing.
And this "Digital Chinese Medicine" was Sophie’s creation.
The software was widely used in clinical treatments, containing authoritative, master-level medical prescriptions from ancient to modern times across the country. Patients could use it for intelligent symptom diagnosis, and doctors could use it to prescribe medication with greater precision. It allowed ordinary people access to master-level prescriptions.
Its wide audience had kept it enduringly popular to this day. It became a life-saving tool for countless families, and because of it, traditional Chinese medicine had experienced a massive resurgence in popularity.
However, before "Digital Chinese Medicine" was even launched, Sophie had gotten married. Chairman Sterling had demanded that she keep a low profile and not show her face in public, forcing her to cast aside her dreams.
But now... Men were a species that acted as ticking time bombs in a marriage. If they were an investment fund, their returns would be so deep in the red they’d bleed you dry. Simply put, they robbed you of both your wealth and your life!