Chapter 193 Wishing You a Long and Lasting Relationship

Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Wishing You a Long and Lasting Relationship

The rain came suddenly, pelting against the glass windows. Sophie Winslow simply gazed quietly into Julian Sterling’s eyes, feeling as though the dampness from outside had seeped straight into her heart.

For a moment, she forgot to respond. Or perhaps, there was no longer any need to state her stance.

Julian was so eager to protect his beloved. She wanted to fire Stella Sutton, so Julian helped Stella break away from Longview. She said Stella had no decision-making power, so Julian handed that very power over to Stella. He refused to let the woman he loved suffer even the slightest grievance.

Consequently, the one left to bear it all was her. After all, in Julian’s heart and in his life, she wasn’t even worth mentioning.

The office fell briefly silent for a few seconds. Breaking the eerie atmosphere was Stella’s laughter, tinged with traces of sweetness. Sophie’s eyes flickered slightly as she snapped back to reality.

Stella was already sitting beside Julian. She leaned over, her eyes entirely focused on the man before her. "Julian, I’m actually fine. I know your heart aches for me."

She made no attempt to hide her smile. As far as she was concerned, Sophie had been utterly defeated. So what if she had gotten her hands on Longview? Julian’s favoritism was an undeniable fact.

Julian’s gaze flickered slightly. He slowly shifted his eyes away from Sophie’s face and leaned back at a leisurely pace. "You can name your price."

He was speaking to Sophie.

Truth be told, Sophie had absolutely no interest in Stella’s project. It had only been propped up by Longview’s resources. She didn’t believe Stella’s smart healthcare initiative would make any real waves in the industry, so there was naturally no reluctance or unwillingness to let it go. From the moment she saw Julian, she already knew what today’s outcome would be. She had just been waiting for a bargaining chip.

The only reason she had bothered "arguing" with Stella and the others was to secure a satisfactory result. After all, Julian would gladly foot the bill for his beloved woman.

"Ninety million," Sophie stated her terms. "A ninety million buyout, and from now on, it has nothing to do with Longview."

In the early stages, Stella had requested a massive amount of Longview’s resources for this project. Promotional and advertising slots alone had cost over twenty million, which was no small investment in the smart healthcare sector. Furthermore, Longview’s comprehensive platform support had built up Stella’s initial advantage. At the very least, she had to pay all of that back.

Stella frowned. "I know my team’s core R&D concepts and technology are of high value, but Sophie, you can’t deny that you’re demanding an astronomical price."

Her team was independent to begin with. Based on normal valuation, they could have bought their way out for under twenty million at most. Sophie was practically extorting them!

Sophie shot her a look, her words twisting the knife with deadly precision. "I’m asking my ’husband’ for money. What right do you have to interfere?"

Stella’s face instantly turned pale and ugly. She stared at Sophie in disbelief. She hated when Sophie referred to herself as Mrs. Sterling! And she absolutely loathed how shamelessly Sophie called Julian her husband! Sophie clearly didn’t deserve him!

At the word "husband," Julian looked up thoughtfully, only to meet Sophie’s mocking gaze, as if she were telling him, "What can you do about it?"

He could tell she was doing it on purpose. She was deliberately using what Stella cared about most to disgust her, and she was intentionally provoking him as well.

Finn Lockwood frowned. Why wasn’t Sophie acting with more discretion? Even if their relationship had been forcibly made public, there was no need to be this brazen, was there? He couldn’t help but glance at Stella, who was obviously very displeased, before looking over at Julian. To his surprise, Julian didn’t seem annoyed at all, as if he didn’t find anything wrong with Sophie’s calculating use of the word "husband."

Julian didn’t refute Sophie’s claim. Acting as if nothing had happened, he simply told her, "Alright, whatever amount you say goes."

Sophie had assumed Julian would show some kind of reaction. Even if he wasn’t as angry as Stella, a simple frown would have proven that her verbal knife had hit its mark. Yet, he had no reaction whatsoever. It was as if he had tacitly accepted and responded to her claim. Sophie couldn’t help but frown, suddenly feeling a wave of boredom wash over her.

"Julian, ninety million is extortion," Stella said, biting her lip in frustration. Her team and technology were valuable, but she refused to let Sophie take advantage of the situation like this.

Sophie’s lips curled up. "I think you’re mistaken about one thing." She enunciated every word, "I’m asking for ninety million, not because I think your project is worth that much, and certainly not because I believe you have any real talent. I’m asking for the valuation of Longview’s resources and the compensation for Longview’s losses. The value of your technology... makes up less than one percent of that."

Sophie’s demeanor remained perfectly composed. It was exactly that cold rationality that naturally turned her words into a far sharper, agonizing blow to Stella’s pride.

Stella’s face darkened instantly. Her tightly pursed lips turned white from sheer anger. Sophie was saying her abilities and her project were worthless?! Who did Sophie think she was?

Finn Lockwood was astonished. He had known Sophie was capable of being aggressive, but he couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded at this moment. Wasn’t Sophie going a bit too far? She was taking the money and the benefits, all while degrading Stella as completely worthless. She acted as if she had wanted to kick Stella’s team to the curb for ages, and yet, she was still the one holding the upper hand. Was Sophie talking a little too tough?

Mr. Thorne, watching from the sidelines, broke into a cold sweat. This was quite the spectacle. Only someone in his position would get to witness a scene like this. He hadn’t expected Sophie to have such a fierce temper, forcefully turning around a situation where she and Longview appeared to be the weak, downtrodden party, completely humiliating the opposition in the process.

The main point was... Mr. Thorne carefully observed Julian’s expression. He looked entirely unruffled, as if none of this came as a surprise. Mr. Thorne couldn’t help but feel a twinge of uncertainty. What kind of situation was this, exactly?

Sophie stood up directly and checked her watch. "As for naming a price of ninety million, that is my blessing to the two of you. Since Mr. Sterling has been so generous, I ought to return the favor with a good omen. Ninety million—representing a long and lasting eternity. How auspicious."

After dropping this final remark, Julian’s deep, dark eyes landed on her face, his emotions indiscernible.

Sophie was no longer looking at him. "Mr. Thorne, see our guests out. Also, throw that chair away. It’s dirty."

She pushed the door open and left, walking out cleanly and decisively.

She had anticipated this outcome from the very beginning. As facts had proven, giving Stella a "hard time" for a little longer allowed her to reap even more benefits. She knew better than anyone just how generous Julian was when it came to Stella. She had asked for a staggering ninety million, framing it with the good omen of a "long-lasting eternity." As expected, Julian hadn’t even blinked, entirely willing to pay for the auspicious blessing.

Therefore, she was very satisfied with how today had gone. She had logically and justifiably booted Stella out of Longview. With the parasite gone, she could finally focus on planning Longview’s future with peace of mind. From the very moment she had acquired Longview, she had been pondering this matter. As for her public "verbal sparring" with Stella a few days ago, it was impossible to say it hadn’t been entirely intentional.

Facts proved her right. She had won the gamble; Julian had stepped in. She got the result she wanted, and ultimately secured a buyout compensation that was more than double the actual value of Stella and her team. She was deeply satisfied. Since she was a businesswoman, she didn’t see anything wrong with being calculating. Everything else was fake; only money was real.

Stella took a deep breath. She naturally knew that Sophie was just putting up a front to protect her pride. Sophie was demanding a sky-high price simply because she was reluctant to let go of her and this highly lucrative project.

It was just that Sophie hadn’t expected Julian to be willing to pay any amount of money.

She had merely miscalculated.