Chapter 190 Refusing to Share a Room

Chapter 190: Chapter 190: Refusing to Share a Room

Julian closed the metal lid of his lighter and looked at Sophie again, his tone perfectly normal. "Actually, there’s no need for you to deliberately hide things from me. I won’t stop you from doing whatever you want to do."

These words pierced Sophie deeply. It made it seem like everything was just her wishful thinking, as if she had directed and acted out this entire dramatic farce all by herself.

She knew very well that the "miscarriage" wouldn’t awaken even the slightest bit of pity or remorse in Julian. Nor was she trying to force him to take a stance. It was just that she felt she had woken up too late. She had allowed herself to suffer grievances for far too long. She should have parted ways with Julian much, much earlier.

"I think you should be clear on one thing. Whether you try to stop me or not has absolutely no effect on me. You could never interfere with decisions I’ve already made anyway," Sophie stated, making her own stance equally clear.

In an instant, as if by some tacit agreement, they had pushed the situation and the atmosphere to a point of explosive tension. Beneath their seemingly calm conversation, neither was actually letting the other off the hook.

Julian usually appeared cultured and aloof, but in reality, he was an expert at uttering cruel words. "If you insist on ruining your own body, it’s not like I can feel the pain for you," he said.

Sophie understood what he meant. He was half-mocking her, implying that despite all her supposed capability and temper, she was still just destroying her own health. He could always unexpectedly strike at a person’s most deeply hidden pain.

Tonight seemed to be one of the rare occasions in all these years where they locked horns so fiercely. And even more rarely, a moment where one sharp remark immediately chased another. In the past, Julian had barely entertained her arguments.

Sophie had originally thought that even if she brought up the "miscarriage," they would just gloss over it without a ripple, just like before. Even though it wasn’t a hysterical screaming match, she could feel that Julian wasn’t completely unaffected.

But he was far too difficult to read. And she genuinely didn’t care what he was thinking about anymore.

So she said, "In all our time as husband and wife, you’ve never even managed to show a bit of heartache for me. I wouldn’t expect you to feel my pain for me."

She was dedicated to overturning his every word; neither of them was going to maintain this false peace.

Julian suddenly stared at Sophie, unblinking. She didn’t know which of her words had rubbed him the wrong way, but she ignored him. She would stay for half an hour at most, then drive away once everyone else had gone to sleep. She couldn’t play along with this act for even a second longer.

The tense atmosphere was broken by a knock at the door.

A servant pushed the door open and entered, carrying a tray with a bowl of pitch-black herbal medicine. The moment the scent hit her, Sophie could almost instantly identify several of the herbs and what they were. Her throat tightened reflexively.

"Mrs. Sterling, this was brewed for you by Mrs. Thorne. You must drink it all. It’s good for your health, and you need to nurse your body back to health in order to carry a baby securely."

Sophie knew these words actually came from Madam Sterling. Right now, she wasn’t Mrs. Sterling; she was just a child-bearing tool controlled by the leverage the Sterling Family held over her.

"Mhm, you can leave," Julian spoke up.

Seeing Julian’s agreeable attitude, the servant immediately smiled and nodded before retreating from the room.

But the very next second, Sophie heard a CLICK from outside as the door was locked. She frowned.

Before she could turn around, a dark shadow loomed over her vision. Julian had already stepped in front of her. The faint scent of fir trees and clear springs on him instantly diluted the pungent smell of the herbal medicine on the tray in her hands.

Julian cast a glance at her. Without caring that the bowl was piping hot, he picked it up, walked straight to the bathroom, and poured it decisively down the sink.

He turned his head back coldly. "If you don’t want a child, then be resolute about it. You don’t have to force yourself to drink the medicine."

Sophie didn’t move. Rather than saying Julian had poured it out to help her, it was more accurate to say it was his own will. He didn’t want to have a child with her either; it was a clear rejection. She didn’t have the energy to dwell on such things anymore.

The door was locked, and she didn’t want to truly be locked in here with Julian for the entire night. Sophie walked to the door and twisted the handle, but it wouldn’t open. This only intensified her irritation. She even felt like a dish being served up on a dinner table; Madam Sterling had absolutely no respect for her.

Behind her, Julian seemed entirely unconcerned by her actions. He didn’t care whether she wanted to leave, or whether she detested being locked in here and forced into compliance. Standing at the bathroom doorway, he took out his phone and checked it.

Not long after, it rang. Julian answered the call.

The room was so quiet that his assistant Clara Quinn’s voice came through exceptionally clearly. "Mr. Sterling, Miss Sutton stayed up late overseeing the R&D product tests. Combined with the fact that Mrs. Sterling leaked the news about her relationship with you, she might have been infuriated by it. She’s fainted."

Sophie heard it clearly.

The next second, footsteps approached from behind. Over her hand that was gripping the doorknob, a large, warm hand covered the back of hers and pressed down. After confirming that it wouldn’t open, Julian looked down at Sophie. "Step aside."

Sophie was confused. Watching her step back, Julian grabbed a baseball bat from a nearby stand. With a cold, expressionless gaze, he smashed it down viciously.

The door lock cracked open with a resounding CRACK. He was far too clean and decisive.

With the door open, Julian cast one last glance at Sophie before leaving. "I’ll have the driver take you back."

After saying that, Julian left without looking back, vanishing into the dim night.

Sophie stared at the ruined door. When she wanted to leave, Julian had turned a blind eye. Yet, the moment anything happened to Stella Sutton, he would recklessly tear apart the Sterling Family home, letting nothing stop him as he strode away.

His blatant favoritism was practically written out in the open.

The commotion here couldn’t be kept from the annex. Madam Sterling soon hurried over. Seeing the door that Julian had destroyed, she was so furious that she got a headache, yet she still had to say to Sophie, "This was Julian’s fault. You’ve been wronged, Sophie."

Sophie had learned how to play the game of false civility. She agreed to whatever was said.

There was nothing wrong with Julian’s anxiety and favoritism toward Stella Sutton tonight. Sophie was already completely sick of being locked in the bedroom and forced into things against her will. However, if she had been the one to throw a reckless tantrum, the Sterling Family would never have spoken to her so nicely. Only because Julian was the one who did it could she be placed in the position of the wronged victim.

It was quite nice. There was nothing bad about it at all. Both she and Julian had achieved the results they wanted.

The fact that Julian had smashed the door just to leave couldn’t be kept a secret in the end. When Sophie came out, she happened to overhear the servants who were getting off shift walking back to their rooms in twos and threes. A few of them were still gossiping about what had happened tonight.

"I accompanied Madam Sterling over there earlier. Our Mr. Sterling really doesn’t want to be with Sophie Winslow, does he? He even smashed the door just to get away."

"Isn’t that a blatant refusal to consummate? Where is Sophie going to show her face after this?" These words were accompanied by a snicker—a mocking laugh.

"Do you guys think that miscarriage was real, though? I don’t think so. She probably just wanted to win some pity and affection, but clearly, she failed. Madam Sterling was already starting to think Sophie was too useless, but once Mr. Sterling left, Madam Sterling was forced to console her. She couldn’t even hold her accountable anymore, because on the surface, Mr. Sterling was the one who went too far."

"I heard a little rumor that *that* woman fainted, which is why Mr. Sterling rushed out. Just a moment before, they were dealing with Sophie’s miscarriage, yet she couldn’t get a shred of care or pity from her husband. Meanwhile, the slightest hiccup with another woman is treated by her husband like the sky is falling. If I were Sophie, I’d be too ashamed to show my face."

Sophie stood in front of her car, hearing every word of the gossip about herself loud and clear.