Chapter 240 He Knows Everything

Chapter 240: Chapter 240: He Knows Everything

How could Sophie Winslow miss the implication in his words? It was a display of absolute disregard. Julian Sterling was practically flaunting his sheer ruthlessness toward her without holding back. She wanted to tell him that he really didn’t have to act this way. She had long given up expecting anything from him. No matter how harsh his words were, they merely brushed past her like a breeze, completely incapable of stirring up any more storms within her.

Julian didn’t utter another word. Sophie’s refusal to explain, coupled with her deliberately provocative remarks, seemed to have put a definitive end to their conversation. Further arguments were futile. He brushed past her and left without looking back, no longer demanding to know who the man was or where she had hidden the child. Once again, they had parted on bitter terms.

Listening to his fading footsteps, Sophie instantly deflated like a punctured balloon. She gasped heavily for air. Leaning against a nearby stone table, a splitting headache crashed over her. Today’s confrontation had caught her completely off guard, making it twice as exhausting to deal with. She replayed the encounter in her mind over and over again, ensuring she hadn’t left any loopholes for Julian’s sharp intellect to dissect later. To keep Lydia by her side, she had practically done everything in her power to solidify his assumption of her "infidelity." Since Julian was the one who proposed it anyway, why should she bother wasting breath on superfluous explanations?

Right on cue, her phone rang. Still pale, Sophie answered the call, and Ivy Hawthorne’s voice chimed in. "I brought Lydia over so we can hang out together. It should be pretty lively today. Where are you? I’ll come find you."

"Where are you two?" Sophie’s heart leaped right back into her throat.

"We just arrived at the banquet hall. I’m going to grab Lydia some desserts. What’s wrong?" Ivy asked, sensing the panic in her friend’s voice.

Sophie snapped her gaze toward the direction Julian had left. Chances were, he was heading straight for the banquet hall. Even though they had just fought so viciously, she couldn’t take any risks. If Julian were to bump into Lydia at such a sensitive juncture, his frighteningly sharp mind might connect the dots. She couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t. Even though Lydia’s facial features hadn’t fully matured yet and her resemblance to Julian wasn’t overly obvious, blood ties carried an undeniable magnetic pull.

Sophie broke into a sprint. "Don’t bring Lydia out yet! Don’t let her run into Julian!"

"Why? What happened?" Ivy’s voice instantly tightened with anxiety.

"He knows I’ve had a child," Sophie panted as she ran.

Ivy clamped her mouth shut.

Sophie ended the call and bolted after Julian at top speed. Finally, she spotted him right at the entrance of the banquet hall. Terrified that Ivy hadn’t moved Lydia yet, she hastily closed the distance and grabbed his hand just as he was about to step inside.

Enveloped by her warmth, Julian slowly lowered his cold eyes. A few seconds later, he turned to look at the breathless woman behind him. He didn’t shake her off; he merely stared at her indifferently, waiting for her to speak.

Sophie’s heart was hammering against her ribs, but her face betrayed nothing. "I don’t think we’ve fully talked this out yet. Can we chat in private?"

It was absolutely the worst possible time for him to see Lydia. Julian’s piercing gaze practically skewered her, leaving her with nowhere to hide. This was the first time in years he had adopted such an unyielding stance toward her. Just standing next to him like this, Sophie found his oppressive aura terrifying.

But right at that moment, a shrill scream erupted from inside the banquet hall, followed by a chorus of shocked gasps.

Sophie looked over. A man had barged in through the side doors, striding toward Stella Sutton with furious intent. The whole thing happened unbelievably fast. Stella’s face paled drastically the moment she saw him. She instinctively backed away, but the man anticipated her move. He snatched her arm and raised his hand, delivering a brutal slap.

SLAP!

Stella crumpled to the floor. Her meticulously styled hair was now a disheveled mess, and her cheek was rapidly swelling. She stared up at the man in sheer terror. "Charles Sterling, you..."

Not far away, Finn Lockwood immediately tossed his wine glass aside, intending to rush over, but Evan York grabbed him by the arm and held him back. There weren’t too many guests in this side hall, but the scene still caused quite a stir.

Sophie felt Julian’s hand slipping from her grasp. Before she could react, he had already brushed her aside and bolted toward the commotion without a backward glance. Staring at his tall, broad back—a back that didn’t hesitate for a split second to play the hero for Stella—Sophie found herself at a loss for words. Even when she had been on the verge of revealing the truth about "how the child came to be," Julian still prioritized Stella’s safety above all else.

The area descended into chaos, with many onlookers clueless about what was unfolding. Julian reached Stella and, completely ignoring Charles right behind him, helped her up from the floor.

"Are you hurt?" Julian asked.

Stella’s eyes were red. "How could he..." She wondered how he had gotten out so fast, and to attack her in front of so many people—how was she ever going to show her face again?

Julian narrowed his eyes but offered no reply.

Sophie had zero interest in seeing how that drama would be resolved. She just wanted to find Ivy and have her sneak Lydia out immediately. However, barely a few steps into the hall, her path was blocked.

She met Charles’s dark, deranged eyes. Gritting his teeth, he seized her wrist and violently flung her against the wall. "Are you really this useless? You can’t even keep your own husband and home from being infiltrated?"

Sophie’s back slammed hard into the wall. The impact made her wince in pain. Wearing high heels made the sudden, forceful yank even worse; she stumbled, painfully twisting her ankle. Ignoring the throbbing in her foot, she fired right back. "Then how useless are you, not even able to keep your own fiancée in check?"

Charles’s handsome face contorted in rage, and he raised his hand once more.

But in that split second, a fierce gust of wind swept up from behind. A hand clamped down on Charles’s arm, followed instantly by a devastating punch. Charles hit the ground hard. Boiling with fury, he glared upward, only to freeze when he met Julian’s utterly emotionless face.

Julian calmly took off his wristwatch and looked down at him. "Have you calmed down?"

Charles’s face drained of color. The veins in his neck bulged with suppressed rage, but he didn’t dare make another move.

Clutching her throbbing wrist, Sophie stared at Julian’s broad, imposing back. Finn strolled over and said coldly, "You shouldn’t have laid a finger on Stella under any circumstances. If you hadn’t, Julian wouldn’t have had to teach you a lesson in public."

Sophie’s hand halted over her wrist. After a moment, she silently agreed. It was the undeniable truth.

Charles’s expression twisted. Julian’s punch had been brutal and unrelenting; his cheekbone throbbed as if it had shattered, and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.

But...

An abrupt memory from their childhood flashed through Charles’s mind. It was right after Julian had survived a kidnapping and returned to the Sterling family all by himself. At the time, Judith Jacobs had just been preparing to move into his late mother’s villa, effectively taking over his mother’s territory. Without batting an eye, Julian had set the entire courtyard ablaze in the dead of night the very day he returned. He would rather destroy it completely than let anyone else taint a single inch of it. He hadn’t even cared that his biological father, Carter Sterling, and Judith were still inside. The fire had nearly caused a catastrophic tragedy, almost burning Carter and Judith to death.

Their grandfather had been utterly furious and demanded Julian apologize. When Julian stubbornly refused, the old master punished him by forcing him to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days straight, completely depriving him of food and water. Even then, Julian never admitted fault.

When Julian finally emerged from the hall, a young Charles had gloatingly approached him and sneered, "Aunt Judith is a mother too, so what’s the big deal with accepting her?" In response, despite being severely battered and starved for three days, Julian had pinned him to the ground and beaten him until his ribs snapped.

From that day onward, Charles understood exactly how cold-blooded Julian truly was. He had always harbored a deep-seated dread toward him—a fear that still lingered to this very day.