Chapter 259: Julian Sterling Personally Escorts Sophie Winslow to Her Wedding

Chapter 259: Chapter 259: Julian Sterling Personally Escorts Sophie Winslow to Her Wedding

Sophie Winslow’s words were sharp and piercing.

Judith Jacobs’s face shifted between livid and pale. Her usually elegant and dignified features twisted in anger, her chest heaving heavily.

Judith felt that Sophie had gone mad. She had truly lost her mind today! To think she would dare spout such outrageous things!

Even Carter Sterling, standing not far away, darkened his expression. He immediately shot a disapproving glare at Julian Sterling, who hadn’t made a single move to stop Sophie’s bout of madness.

Old Madam Sterling hadn’t expected that demanding Sophie’s presence today would bring the Sterling family such a "surprise." Gripping her Buddha beads tightly, she snapped, "Enough! Haven’t you embarrassed us enough?"

Tonight, Sophie had torn away their fig leaf. The Sterling family had already become the laughingstock of their social circle! If the old chairman over in Vesparia found out, his wrath would spare no one.

Sophie’s gaze was chilling as she looked at the old madam, a woman who had maintained a holy facade while harboring a cruel heart from start to finish. "The Sterlings are the ones who acted; I merely stated the facts. If it’s embarrassing and you still refuse to stop, that’s a problem deeply rooted in your family’s core. Your reputation isn’t being ruined by someone’s lips. Also, do not disturb my peaceful life ever again. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what I’ll do next."

She was truly infuriated by the matter of the divorce certificate. In truth, she had been driven to the brink of madness by the Sterlings long ago. The idea that they still wanted to use her to maintain the family’s dignity was completely delusional.

The corners of the old madam’s aged mouth trembled slightly. She stared at Sophie. "Do you truly not regret your actions today?"

Sophie slowly broke into a smile. Her beautiful, reddened eyes were filled with unwavering resolve. "I have always been serious. When I say I don’t want it anymore, I mean it."

Ever since she first brought up the divorce, the Sterlings had never taken her seriously. They assumed it was just a superficial act and that she still harbored affection for the family and for Julian. They had never once respected her stance. So today, she would make it abundantly clear to them just how resolute she was about no longer wanting Julian!

The old madam was stunned.

Even Julian, who had remained indifferent to everything all evening, slowly shifted his gaze onto Sophie’s face. His dark eyes were filled with an endless, unfathomable gloom.

Sophie, however, couldn’t care less about what he was thinking. She viciously shook off the large hand Julian had wrapped around her wrist. Right in front of the numerous guests, she turned and left without looking back. By publicly severing ties, she left no way back for herself and deprived the Sterling family of any opportunity to keep pestering her.

The knuckles of Julian’s rejected hand twitched slightly. Eventually, he slowly curled his fingers and let his arm drop back to his side. His eyes remained fixed on Sophie’s retreating figure, his emotions indiscernible.

Judith finally snapped out of her daze. "Sophie’s wings have truly grown strong. She thinks she’s climbed the social ladder and secured her own leverage, so she no longer puts her in-laws in her eyes! This is a blatant declaration of cutting ties with the Sterlings! Severing the connection! How did we never notice she had such a fierce temper before?"

Sophie was going to regret this!

The old madam had taken quite a blow tonight. Her face looked terrible as she swayed dizzily, prompting Carter to hurriedly support her.

"Sophie, that child, has indeed become a bit too arrogant," the old madam said, her blood pressure skyrocketing, especially after being treated as a joke by so many guests tonight.

Judith spoke coldly, "To ruin the Sterling family’s reputation like this and show such massive disrespect to her elders... Julian, you need to properly discipline her!"

At those words, Julian finally withdrew his gaze from the doorway. His eyes were as calm as dark waves capable of swallowing a person whole. When he quietly stared at someone like that, it inexplicably sent a bone-deep chill through them.

His voice was faint. "If we’re talking about massive disrespect, Sophie falls far short of me. Didn’t I almost burn you to death back then, despite you being an elder?"

Though his tone was entirely placid, it felt like a sharp blade that could easily claim all their lives. The expressions of everyone present shifted, especially Judith and Carter’s. Judith’s spine instantly stiffened.

Over the years, Julian’s true nature had been completely hidden beneath his handsome and gentlemanly exterior. He concealed his emotions so seamlessly that, over time, they had almost forgotten what kind of temper he used to have.

Even Carter frowned. This son of his was ultimately too cold-blooded and utterly indifferent to family ties.

Julian had no intention of explaining himself in public. He simply let the stormy atmosphere rage on as he turned and walked out.

The once-grand cocktail party had been thoroughly ruined, leaving behind nothing but a colossal mess to clean up.

When Sophie stepped outside, her footsteps were weak and unsteady. She had actually never intended to tear at the Sterling family’s dignity to such an extent. But the matter of the divorce certificate had touched upon the thing she cared about most—it involved Lydia.

She was unwilling to be manipulated any longer, and naturally, she refused to beg them for the real divorce certificate again. Since the Sterlings were being ruthless, she only had one path left to choose.

Standing by the roadside, Sophie requested a ride-hailing car. At this hour, the queue was over a hundred people deep. Unable to care about anything else, she directly dialed Adrian Hawthorne’s number.

It didn’t take long for the call to connect. "Sophie?"

She choked back the lump in her throat and asked, "Are you free right now? I have something I need to see you about."

Adrian seemed to catch the slight irregularity in her voice. After a brief pause, he replied, "I’m working overtime at Nexus. I’ll wait for you."

Nexus was the Hawthorne family’s branch in Kingsford. He added, "I’ll have my secretary go downstairs to wait for you."

Sophie said okay and hung up. However, her ride still hadn’t arrived. She touched her face. It was dry; not a single tear had fallen. She realized she was stronger than she had imagined.

Suddenly, a Rolls-Royce, gleaming black in the night, pulled up and stopped in front of her. The window rolled down to reveal Julian sitting in the driver’s seat. Resting one hand on the steering wheel, he turned his head to look at her. "Where to? Get in."

Sophie stared at his perfectly placid face. For some reason, the corner of her lips twitched.

She could have refused. But in that moment, a thought crossed her mind, and she decided against it. She got into the car with crisp efficiency. "Nexus, please. Thank you."

Upon hearing the name, Julian finally shifted his gaze onto Sophie’s face as she buckled her seatbelt. Of course he knew whose company Nexus was. He also knew exactly who Sophie was going to see. Yet here he was, acting as her driver, personally chauffeuring her to meet Adrian.

She had been so absolute at the cocktail party, yet now, it seemed she had figured something out and entered a complete "peaceful truce" with him.

In the end, Julian started the car. His voice drifted over. "Reason."

Sophie knew what he was referring to. It was nothing more than asking why she had acted so recklessly tonight. It was rather amusing. She had thought he would be angry and reprimand her for ruining the Sterling family’s reputation, plunging them into a scandal. On a larger scale, it might even have some impact on the stock market. Yet unexpectedly, instead of waiting for a scolding, she was met with curiosity.

This man had always possessed a knack for grasping the main point. His sharpness was so acute it was often chilling.

Sophie looked out the window. "No particular reason. I just didn’t want to tolerate it anymore."

Whether Julian accepted her reason or not was unknown. His tone was apathetic. "Then you can be considered to have grown up. Knowing to strengthen your wings before turning hostile is the fundamental way to avoid suffering further grievances."

Sophie didn’t want to bother figuring out if his words were meant as praise or an insult. Since Julian had no intention of seeking retaliation for her flipping the table tonight, she didn’t need to waste any energy analyzing him.

Julian’s indifference was carved into his very bones. Even though tonight’s events concerned him and involved his family’s honor, he was able to watch coldly from the sidelines as if it had nothing to do with him. It was no wonder he had been so apathetic toward her, his wife, all these years.

By tacit agreement, they stopped talking. The only thing lingering inside the car was the presence of the other person—so close, yet so far away, completely out of reach.

They arrived at Nexus. Without uttering a single word of thanks, Sophie opened the car door and walked toward Adrian’s waiting secretary without looking back.

Julian cast a faint glance her way. He didn’t know why Sophie had come to see Adrian tonight. He simply watched her silhouette disappear into the lobby before slowly withdrawing his gaze. Taking out his cigarette case, he lit a smoke.

Sophie headed upstairs and made her way to Adrian’s office. She walked through the door.

Adrian looked up from behind his desk. He set down his pen and immediately stood up. Sophie, however, beat him to the punch. Without any preamble, she marched over, looked him in the eye, and enunciated every single word: "Are you willing to get a marriage certificate with me? Right now."