By the time they left The Sinclair Group, it was already quite late.
Clara pestered Josephine with endless questions. "So, how did it go? Did my brother hire you? What’s your position? How much is he paying you? If the salary is too low, I’ll go renegotiate for you."
"Clara!" Josephine raised a hand to hush her. "Thank you for the kind offer, but I realized that The Sinclair Group isn’t quite the right fit for me. I don’t plan on working at your brother’s company."
Hearing this, Clara’s face fell. "Did my brother refuse to hire you, but forced you to say this because he was afraid you’d tell me? Just wait here. I’m going to go give him a piece of my mind."
Josephine didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She reached out and stopped Clara as she was about to make a call. "What are you talking about? President Sinclair was very amiable. Why would he force me to say that? It was entirely my own decision. Besides, your brother bought the licensing rights to one of my patents at a rather high price, so I shouldn’t be short on money anytime soon."
"Really?" Clara looked surprised. "Is it that building materials patent you mentioned last time?"
Ever since Liam Sterling’s company ran into trouble, Josephine had been tirelessly researching building materials. Over the past two months, while they were still in touch, Clara had even accompanied her to the materials market several times. Back then, she had thought Josephine was just grasping at straws, especially since it was entirely outside her field of expertise. She never expected that in just a few short months, Josephine would actually secure a research and development patent.
Her Josie was truly incredible! She was a thousand times more capable than that Stella. The Sterlings were all completely blind to miss how wonderful Josie was. One day, they would definitely regret it.
Josephine smiled and nodded. "Yes. I submitted the application a month ago, and it was just approved today."
"That’s great. My brother didn’t lowball you, did he? Do you want me to squeeze a little more out of him?" Clara pulled Josephine close and whispered.
Josephine laughed so hard her shoulders shook. "If your brother hears you, he’s going to doubt whether you’re actually his biological sister."
"Of course I am! I wouldn’t bother swindling money from anyone else!" Clara exchanged a knowing look with Josephine, and the two friends burst into silent laughter.
Josephine knew that Clara had stayed by her side these past few days out of fear that she might do something drastic. After all, not everyone had the courage to completely sever ties with their own family—especially a family she had once cared about so deeply.
Unable to hold back, Josephine reached out and hugged her. "Thank you, Clara. Truly, thank you."
In the days since her rebirth, Josephine had felt like an emotionless machine fueled solely by revenge. She calculated her every move, locked in a bitter struggle to the bitter end with the Sterling family. But at this moment, her frozen heart finally began to thaw. Her feelings for Clara were no longer just a simple desire to repay a debt of gratitude; they were rooted in genuine affection. There were good people in this world, not just scumbags.
"Why should I freeze my own heart over a bunch of terrible people?" she thought.
"Alright, alright!" Clara gently rubbed Josephine’s back. "Let me drive you home."
Clara went to get her car, and Josephine didn’t stand on ceremony. But just as she got in and buckled her seatbelt, Clara received a phone call from her family.
"What? You’re saying Howard brought people to our house and got into a fight with Mom and Dad? That bastard. Wait there, I’m coming back right now."
She hung up the phone and turned to meet Josephine’s gaze.
"I’ll go with you," Josephine said, the warmth that had just returned to her face instantly vanishing into a cold glare.
The Sinclair family was an established, old-money clan. Had it not been for an accident that nearly drove them into bankruptcy, newly wealthy upstarts like the Sterlings would never have dared to show up at their door and cause a scene.
The moment Clara’s car came to a stop in front of the Sinclairs’ home, Josephine threw open the door and rushed out. Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair had been in poor health ever since their accident. She refused to let them get hurt over her own private affairs.
As she approached the entrance, the front doors flew open. Howard and Grace were practically being shoved out by the servants.
"The Sinclair family is supposed to be a respectable household! Is this how you treat your guests? You can’t even discipline your own daughter, yet you’re trying to abduct someone else’s! Have you no shame?"
Howard and Grace’s voices rang out one after another, grating harshly against Josephine’s ears. How dared they throw a tantrum at the Sinclairs’ home? Who gave them the audacity?
Her expression glacial, Josephine clenched her fists and strode forward. She grabbed Howard and Grace, forcefully shoving them away from the front doors. "What exactly do you mean by that? Explain yourselves."
"You really are here," Grace sneered. Seeing Josephine appear, she lunged forward like a madwoman and slapped her across the face.
The sharp SMACK echoed through the air, bringing an abrupt silence to the scene. The Sinclair parents, who had just stepped out the door, were entirely taken aback to see Josephine standing there.
Clara tried to rush forward to protect her, but Mr. Sinclair held her back. "This is the Sterling family’s private matter. Don’t interfere."
"What family—" Clara tried to argue, but upon meeting her father’s stern gaze, she didn’t dare say another word. She could only look at Josephine with an expression of deep heartache.
Josephine’s head was knocked to the side, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. She pressed her tongue against the inside of her cheek. When she turned back to face them, she let out a cold, mocking laugh.
"Satisfied? Then tell me, why did you come to the Sinclairs’ home?"
Her icy demeanor and the hostile, unapproachable aura radiating from her made Grace’s raised hand tremble.
"You... you ungrateful wretch! You actually have the nerve to ask? Do you have no idea what you ordered the Sinclair family’s bodyguards to do?
"What, just because the Sinclairs are protecting you, you think you can completely disregard your own parents and brothers? Let me tell you, don’t even dream about it. You are a daughter of the Sterling family! The Sinclairs can’t protect you forever!"
Howard, his face dark with fury, stepped forward as well. "You unfilial child! Hurry up and come back to the Sterling family with us. Let’s see if anyone from the Sinclair family dares to stop us today."
"Ah... so they suspected that the bodyguards who had beaten Liam Sterling belonged to the Sinclairs," Josephine thought. "They think I only had the guts to rebel against the Sterling family because the Sinclairs are backing me up. And because they fear I’ll never return as long as I have their support, they panicked and came running to demand me back? Am I really that useless in their eyes? Do they really believe I can only leave the Sterling family by clinging to someone else’s coattails? How laughable!"
Josephine took a step back, dodging Howard’s reaching hand. "Professor Sterling, Ms. Hayes, I’m afraid the two of you have lost your minds. Have you forgotten? I, Josephine, am no longer a daughter of your family. It’s only been three days since we signed the breakup letter. The ink hasn’t even dried yet. How could you both suffer from amnesia so quickly?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she reached into her bag and pulled out the breakup letter. "It’s fine. Even if you’ve lost your memories, my mind is perfectly clear. Everything is written right here in black and white. Would you like me to read it out loud for you?"
"You animal!" Howard was shocked that Josephine would boldly pull out the breakup letter in broad daylight, right in front of the entire Sinclair family. She was thoroughly burning all her bridges. Did she truly never intend to return to the Sterling family?
"No, that’s impossible," he thought. "Isn’t she just doing all of this to force us to beg her to come back? Doesn’t she just want us to acknowledge her capabilities and give her a little more attention? How could she not want to return to her family?
"Yes, that must be it. She must want to come back. Everything she’s done is just a ploy to make us yield. Right now, because we haven’t lowered ourselves to beg, she’s pulling out the breakup letter to threaten us. Well, we’re not falling for it."
"Josephine, don’t say we didn’t give you a chance," Grace snapped, her expression incredibly ugly. "You were angry with the family because of Stella, and we didn’t blame you for that. When you wanted to sign the breakup letter and run away from home, we indulged you. We originally thought that after a few days, you would come to your senses and return home on your own.
"But now, it seems that because you’ve hitched your wagon to the Sinclair family, you look down on the Sterlings? Don’t forget that your surname is Sterling! The Sterling family gave birth to you and raised you for over twenty years! Can you honestly say that your actions are worthy of what we’ve done for you?
"Once an established household like the Sinclairs finds out the truth about what an unfaithful, unfilial person you are, they will never continue to protect you. Give up this foolishness and come home with us immediately!"