Chapter 45 She Wants a Divorce, Immediately

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: She Wants a Divorce, Immediately

Sophie Winslow figured out the whole sequence of events.

So, Julian Sterling was called away just because of this?

"Weren’t they the ones who got hit?"

"Bullshit!" Ivy Hawthorne cursed instantly. "I reacted fast enough. That chubby kid ran across the road like it was his own backyard. If I hadn’t tried to avoid hurting him, this never would have happened! And when Stella Sutton called the police, she claimed I was speeding, attempting a hit-and-run, and even said I hit her. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have ended up at the police station!"

She had been infuriated by that chubby kid at the time. After comforting Lydia, she had gotten out of the car to deal with it, only to be shoved by Stella Sutton right off the bat. Naturally, she wasn’t going to just take it lying down, so she shoved back. It was just a little push, but according to Stella Sutton, it became physical assault.

Having finished cursing, Ivy suddenly remembered that Lydia was still there. She immediately crouched down in embarrassment to cover the little girl’s ears. Lydia blinked her big eyes, curving them into a sweet smile at Ivy. Instantly, Ivy’s heart melted.

Sophie thought of Stella Sutton’s phone call. She had acted as if she had suffered some grievous injury, insisting on dragging Julian away. But now...

"The police have gone to pull the security footage, but Stella Sutton insists that I am fully at fault and demands an explanation." Ivy suppressed her rage in front of Lydia, but her tone still carried uncontrollable anger. "If it weren’t for that unruly Seth Sutton running wild without his parents’ supervision, Lydia wouldn’t have been frightened and bumped her little head!"

"Miss Hawthorne, the other party has gone to the hospital for an injury assessment. Since it’s not a major accident, why don’t you two try to negotiate an agreement?" a police officer walked over and advised.

Sophie furrowed her brows. "What about the security footage?"

The officer shook his head. "That area is a blind spot for the cameras. We need to check from different angles, which will take some time."

"How is that possible? A massive hotel like that has camera blind spots?" Ivy scoffed, refusing to buy that excuse.

But...

"Julian went over to help handle it," Sophie said, lowering her eyes, her calm voice cutting through the tension.

Ivy immediately choked on her words, instantly understanding Sophie’s implication. If Stella Sutton intended to make things difficult, tampering with the security footage would take nothing more than a single word from Julian.

Sophie took a deep breath. She crouched down, her trembling fingertips brushing against Lydia’s red and swollen forehead. "Call them."

Lydia needed to go to the hospital to treat her head injury. Moreover, a child’s fever could quickly escalate; they couldn’t afford to delay. They had to resolve this matter as soon as possible and rush to the hospital.

Feeling Lydia’s persistently burning forehead, Sophie’s heart shattered with pain. Forcing down her emotions, she placed Lydia into Ivy’s arms. "I’ll contact them."

Perhaps because she was sick, Lydia’s eyes were watery, and her face was flushed and burning from the fever. Being delayed here and wasting time was something Sophie simply couldn’t bear.

Sophie had Stella Sutton’s phone number. After all, they had almost married into the same family once, so they had each other’s contact information. She dialed the number, but the call was rejected. She dialed again, only for it to be rejected once more. The other party was intentionally putting on airs.

Expressionless, Sophie gripped her phone and turned to the police officer. "Could you please contact them for me?"

Sure enough, the officer’s call went through. However, it wasn’t Stella Sutton who answered. Julian’s cold and indifferent voice came through the receiver. "Apologies, we were just dealing with the wound and missed the call."

Sophie unconsciously clenched her fists. He was certainly meticulous when it came to Stella Sutton’s matters, yet his own biological daughter had been terrified by this incident, injured, and detained at the police station, left with no choice but to wait for his word!

Stella Sutton’s voice also filtered through, speaking with absolute resolve. "I won’t forgive her, and I won’t negotiate! My brother was injured this badly by her, and I want her placed under administrative detention!"

Sophie stared intently at the phone, waiting for Julian’s stance.

Finally, the man’s deep, calm voice sounded from the earpiece. "Then we’ll do just that."

Sophie’s heart plummeted endlessly, crashing into the dust before being ruthlessly stomped to pieces. Once again, she witnessed her husband’s deep affection and blatant favoritism toward another woman.

Finding the situation difficult to mediate, the police officer spoke up. "Sir, why don’t you come to the station and handle this in person?"

Sophie’s nerves instantly pulled taut. She instinctively looked over at the seating area where Ivy was holding Lydia.

She opened her mouth. "You don’t have to..."

But in the next second, she heard Julian state flatly, "No, the child is fussing and refuses to leave my side."

His words were like a basin of icy water, drenching Sophie and shocking her fully awake.

He was so wholeheartedly devoted to Seth Sutton, a child with whom he had no blood relation whatsoever. If Julian ever found out that his decision today had made him miss out on his own biological daughter, would he regret it?

Sophie didn’t even care about the answer to that question anymore.

Clenching her fists tightly, her eyes filled with bleak irony, she enunciated every word clearly. "Julian, I am taking Ivy out of this police station right now. You can either handle Stella Sutton, or I will handle her for you."

Lydia could not be delayed any longer. She desperately needed medical attention. For her sake, Sophie was willing to completely sever all ties with Julian!

Sophie’s sudden outburst instantly plunged the situation into dead silence. She knew he understood her threat perfectly. After all, Stella Sutton was somewhat of a public figure; she couldn’t necessarily afford a scandal.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the call abruptly ended. It seemed he was unwilling to communicate further.

So cold and heartless...

It felt like a stinging slap to the face. Sophie’s entire body turned icy. This was Julian’s attitude. She took a deep breath and turned to check on Lydia’s condition in Ivy’s arms.

The bump on Lydia’s head had grown even larger. Due to the pain and discomfort, the little girl’s eyes brimmed with reflexive tears, yet she remained perfectly quiet, neither crying nor throwing a tantrum. Her absolute obedience made Sophie feel as if her heart were being roasted over an open flame.

She picked Lydia up, ready to disregard everything and leave with her first, when the police officer suddenly hurried over. "The other party has backed down. They’ve agreed to mediation."

The corners of Sophie’s eyes were red, but a cold sneer tugged at her lips.

Backed down? Was it really backing down?

It was merely Julian worrying that she would be pushed too far and do something to damage Stella Sutton’s reputation and image! It wasn’t about being reasonable at all. He had simply weighed the pros and cons before arrogantly deciding to "spare" them.

Ivy stayed behind to continue handling the situation. Braving the bone-chilling wind, Sophie rushed straight to the nearest hospital with Lydia in her arms.

Lydia had always been sickly since birth. Even after consuming countless precious tonics, she still couldn’t overcome her congenital health issues. She fell ill easily, and her condition could worsen rapidly. Sophie did not dare to take any risks.

When she got out of the car holding Lydia, she ran so frantically that one of her shoes fell off, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Doctors and nurses quickly arrived to examine her. Pale-faced, Sophie tightly held onto Lydia’s hand. Lying on the bed, Lydia turned her head to look at her and used her little hand to wipe the corners of Sophie’s eyes. "Don’t cry, Mommy. It doesn’t hurt at all. I’ll be good and get my shots, and I’ll get well really fast."

Sophie let out a shaky breath and gently stroked the little one’s head. "Mommy knows."

Due to her fever, Lydia drifted into a hazy sleep shortly after.

While Sophie was running errands to pay the medical bills, she caught sight of Julian’s tall figure moving through the crowd not far away.

He was carrying Seth Sutton, who appeared to be in perfectly fine condition, even playing with a toy airplane. Julian carefully tucked a coat around the boy and carried him upstairs to a hospital ward. Stella Sutton followed closely behind, carrying his jacket for him.

What a perfect picture of a happy family of three.

She thought of everything Lydia had endured today. Lydia, left waiting at the police station while enduring pain and illness, compared to Julian, who was completely doting on Stella Sutton’s younger brother...

Clutching the receipt, Sophie stared blankly at the bustling crowd. Expressionless, she tilted her head back to look at the glaring lights on the ceiling.

After a long silence, she pulled out her phone and called the marital home.

"Ms. Coleman, could you please bring over the file folder I left behind earlier?"

Even though she and Julian had signed the divorce agreement seven years ago, and she only needed to wait another two and a half months to officially end this marriage, she couldn’t wait any longer.

Since he happened to be right here in the hospital, she was going to make Julian go with her to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their divorce certificate right now!