Chapter 254: Are You Evan’s Sister?

Chapter 254: Chapter 254: Are You Evan’s Sister?

Sophie Winslow clearly had a defiant streak.

From start to finish, she showed no guilt or remorse for hiding the fact that she had given birth. She didn’t even offer a single word of explanation. Instead, she seemed entirely unafraid of adding fuel to the fire. Her tacit admission to everything was glaringly abrasive, and even her tone when offering a supposed apology lacked the slightest hint of sincerity.

Julian Sterling kept his eyes straight ahead, never once glancing back at Sophie. He stared out into the gloomy, rainy night. His side profile was half-obscured by the dim light, throwing the sharp, jutting contours of his nose bridge and Adam’s apple into stark relief. Utterly devoid of warmth, he looked completely unapproachable.

He didn’t respond to her words. Once again, the silence between them was suffocating.

What finally brought Sophie a breath of relief was the sudden ringing of Julian’s phone resting on the center console. The glowing screen was impossible to ignore in the dark cabin. She easily caught sight of the incoming WhatsApp voice call—it was Stella Sutton. And once again, there was that glaringly affectionate contact name.

Almost the instant her gaze landed on it, Julian reached over and snatched the phone away. He pulled out a wireless earbud, slipped it in, and answered. He clearly had no intention of ignoring his beloved’s call just because Sophie was in the car.

"Yeah, I’m out of the city," his voice echoed in the enclosed space.

Sophie simply turned to look out the window, trying to minimize her own presence. Yet, their casual, scattered conversation continued to drift into her ears. It was a fact she desperately wanted to ignore, but couldn’t help but notice: Julian was truly much more patient with Stella. He would consistently answer even her most trivial, fragmented questions. Responses like, "Mhm," "Sure," and "See you then," played on a loop next to her.

He was in no rush to hang up. The contrast with how he treated Sophie was immense.

For no particular reason, the corners of Sophie’s lips curled into a faint smile. The depth of a relationship truly couldn’t be measured by the length of time two people spent together. When a man loved a woman, the time, energy, and money he invested were all glaringly obvious testaments to that love.

Trying to tune out the couple’s endless sweet talk, she shifted her thoughts to Finn Lockwood’s situation.

Finn had been furious back then. What would he do to Stella? They were probably going to have a complete fallout. After all, Stella’s deception had caused Finn to suffer a massive setback. He wouldn’t swallow that insult easily.

In that case... what would Julian do? Did he know that Stella had falsely claimed credit for saving someone’s life? If Finn targeted Stella, would Julian protect her, or would he finally see through her facade?

Sophie pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn’t want to think about it anymore. But Julian and Stella’s intimate phone chatter was still buzzing in her ear. She was genuinely sick of hearing it. Forcing an ex-wife to listen to her ex-husband being overly affectionate with the very mistress who ruined their marriage was inherently nauseating.

Sophie rolled her window down a fraction.

On the other end of the line, Stella seemed to notice the noise. She likely asked, "Is someone with you?"

Julian’s dark eyes calmly slid over to glance at Sophie. "No one."

A spray of cold rain hit Sophie’s face. Hearing his response, her lips twitched in a mocking smirk. Right now, *she* felt like the homewrecker sneaking around in the dark.

The drive back to the city was already long, and their phone call didn’t last the entire way. However, Sophie realized that Julian wasn’t driving very fast. Even though it was raining, at this rate, their two-hour journey would easily stretch into more than three.

Suppressing her impatience, she asked, "Could you drive a little faster?"

Julian’s tone remained flat. "Safety or speed. Pick one." Casting a sidelong glance at her, he added, "Aren’t you worried your daughter might lose her mother to an accident at such a young age?"

Sophie knew he had always possessed a venomous tongue, so she didn’t bother arguing. Enduring the discomfort, she gritted her teeth and suffered through the grueling three-hour drive. Ironically, it was a rare moment of prolonged alone time for the two of them.

By the time they arrived back at her residential complex, the rain had stopped, and it was nearly midnight.

The moment the car parked, Sophie unbuckled her seatbelt and got out. She had intended to offer a brief word of thanks, but the second she turned around, Julian had already whipped the car around and vanished into the night.

Sophie understood perfectly well. He had probably dreaded enduring those three hours even more than she had. But none of that mattered anymore. She turned and headed upstairs to her apartment.

The next day.

Sophie went to Kingsford University. Kingsford Medical University’s upcoming historic, nationwide neuro-pharmaceutical initiative was an S-level mega-project—an extraordinary undertaking. The most brilliant mentors and top students from elite medical schools across the country had all converged on Rydan. The professor delegation at Kingsford University was tasked with uniformly managing these incoming research teams.

Submitting project reports was the very first phase. Subsequent stages included a fierce patent competition. Only then would they have a chance to secure a ticket into the National Academy of Somatic Medicine. While everyone was going all out for the same project, they were also fiercely competing for the handful of available positions at the Academy. There was an immense amount of work to be done, and as a professor, Sophie couldn’t just stand on the sidelines.

When she arrived at the small conference room, the various university research teams composed of professors and students had just finished submitting their reports.

From a distance, Sophie heard someone exclaim in awe, "Miss Sutton, your writing is incredibly professional! You scored one of the highest marks. Even our professor was praising you. You’re definitely going to be highly valued here."

Sophie’s footsteps paused. Over there, Stella smiled affably. "I just put in a bit of hard work, that’s all."

She also spotted Sophie. Instantly raising an eyebrow, Stella walked over to her and asked in front of everyone, "Are you satisfied with this report?"

Sophie, of course, knew the truth. Julian’s contributions behind the scenes were undoubtedly significant. Given that he had a strong enough personal relationship with Robert from Archway University, a figure of that caliber personally guiding someone at Stella’s level was quite the advantage. Naturally, Sophie could see the arrogance and smugness glinting in Stella’s eyes.

She was simply trying to get back at Sophie for entirely rejecting her previous report.

Sophie swept a glance over the report in Stella’s hands and gave a slow, measured smile. "Robert coaching you must surely count as a workplace injury on his end."

Stella’s face dramatically changed color. But Sophie had already brushed past her and walked away.

Stella’s lips pulled into a tight line, anger simmering in her chest. After all, Sophie’s tongue was far too venomous. She firmly believed that Sophie was merely jealous of her highly valued abilities. Whether it was publicly rejecting her entire report last time or making such snide remarks now, it was nothing more than a desperate attempt to suppress her. Sophie was simply terrified of being outshone.

Such behavior was truly unsightly. Someone who abused their power for personal vendettas would never make it far!

Sophie could tell that Stella likely still had no idea that Finn had discovered the truth. As for what would happen next, she couldn’t care less about either of them.

During the lunch break.

Sophie saw Chloe York poke her head through the doorway. Upon spotting Sophie, the young woman’s eyes began to sparkle. Clutching a small box, Chloe trotted in and placed it by Sophie’s hand. "I baked some cookies. Our workload is going to be super intense from now on, so have some when you get hungry."

Sophie could practically see the blatant adoration and delight shining in Chloe’s eyes. Hesitantly, she asked, "You seem to treat me quite... specially?"

Chloe nodded eagerly. "I’m a member of the York family. I know you saved my grandmother, Professor. I really admire you, and I’m so grateful to you."

That was the exact reason she had wanted to be Sophie’s student. Sophie hadn’t expected the world to be so small. Then again, the surname York was quite rare in the first place.

Fearful that Sophie might reject the gift, Chloe hastily backed toward the door, adding, "They aren’t too sweet! They won’t be a burden on your health."

Before Sophie could even utter a word, Chloe had already sprinted out like a gust of wind.

Speechless, Sophie silently tucked the small box of cookies away.

A bright smile plastered on her doll-like face, Chloe stepped out the door—only to come face-to-face with Stella, who had been standing there for God knows how long. Chloe offered a polite greeting but had no intention of striking up a conversation.

Stella, however, followed right behind her. She hadn’t expected Chloe to be a member of the York family either.

"You’re Evan’s younger sister?" she asked, observing Chloe, who practically had ’naive and gullible’ written all over her face.