Chapter 47 Give Her a Child Before Divorcing

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Give Her a Child Before Divorcing

Finn Lockwood also noticed the blank space at the bottom where the signature should have been. Earlier, as Julian Sterling was reviewing the terms of the divorce agreement, Finn had read along with him clause by clause.

Finally, Finn scoffed, "I knew it. Since when did Sophie Winslow have the backbone to ask you for a divorce? Who would include such dictatorial terms in a divorce agreement? Didn’t she find her own demands laughable when she was drafting them?"

A few clauses stood out conspicuously.

First: In the event of a divorce, Julian Sterling must hand over half of his assets.

Second: After the divorce, Julian is forbidden to marry Stella Sutton, give her any official title, or allow her to bear his children for ten years.

Third: The divorce can proceed, but he must give Sophie a child. Once she is pregnant, they will finalize the paperwork.

Finn found it absolutely hilarious and said in disbelief, "Is this the attitude of someone desperate for a divorce? Isn’t this just being unreasonable and throwing a tantrum? Sophie must have bet that you would never sign this agreement, which is why she acted so tough and challenged you, right?"

Julian’s expression remained unchanged.

This divorce agreement was clearly just an extremely negative "product of emotion." Utterly worthless.

"She doesn’t want to divorce you at all, and she’s certain you would never sign it," Finn concluded.

Could Sophie really be unaware of how unfathomably vast Julian’s assets were? Opening her mouth to demand half—she sure had a huge appetite. And forbidding him from marrying Stella? Was she trying to waste Stella’s youth away? And making him get her pregnant before the divorce? The sound of Sophie’s scheming calculations could be heard all the way across the Pacific! Was she really that desperate and ferocious? If she actually had a child, would she still divorce? She would simply use the child to elevate her status and cling on even tighter!

"Julian, you’re not actually going to entertain this, are you?"

"I don’t have that kind of free time." Julian’s eyes were indifferent. He took one last look at the absurd agreement before finally walking over to the trash can at the top of the stairs. Pinching it between two fingers, he tore it in half and casually tossed the pieces into the bin.

Seeing Julian’s attitude, Finn knew he wasn’t going to play along with Sophie’s games. "Julian, aren’t you going to have a clear talk with Sophie?"

Julian stepped toward the stairs. "There’s no need."

If Sophie wanted to cause a scene, let her. He would just pretend he never saw this agreement.

After a slight frown, Finn understood what Julian meant. "I get it. The silent treatment. Let her know that boundaries aren’t meant to be tested."

Finn clicked his tongue. Sophie had caused a fuss for nothing once again. To act up, one needed the capital to do so. It seemed she still hadn’t realized her own lack of weight in his heart.

***

At the Sterling Family home.

When Ms. Coleman returned, Madam Sterling was still in the Buddhist shrine room. Listening to Ms. Coleman’s report, the old madam rose from her prayer mat.

"Sophie is actually serious about this divorce."

"Madam, Sophie’s signed agreement has been swapped out. There shouldn’t be any problems now, right?" Ms. Coleman asked.

Madam Sterling shook her head with a sigh. "Last time, I used the family rule forbidding remarriage into the Sterling Family to scare her, but the child wasn’t intimidated. She still insists on leaving..."

She had indeed been bluffing last time, hoping to dispel Sophie’s thoughts of divorce. She never expected Sophie to be so resolute. But if those two really did divorce, the peaceful days of the Sterling Family would come to an end. That girl from the Sutton Family was still eyeing the position of Mrs. Sterling like a hawk. Therefore, she couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

"Madam, can we really keep this from Mr. Sterling? If he gets upset and goes back to confront Sophie, won’t our cover be blown?"

"He won’t," Madam Sterling said calmly. "Julian is a deep thinker. He’ll just pretend such an absurd agreement never existed. When have you ever seen Julian get red in the face and have a screaming match with Sophie?"

If Julian cared even a little bit about Sophie, perhaps they could sit down and communicate properly, and their relationship wouldn’t have deteriorated to this point. As for Sophie... she would just have to figure out another way to suppress her.

"But those two signed divorce agreements are set in stone. The former chairman handled them personally seven years ago. Once the three months are up, they’ll still end up divorced..." Ms. Coleman brought up the crucial point.

Madam Sterling frowned. If Ms. Coleman hadn’t glanced into the file folder and seen the divorce agreement, things would have been disastrous. She had asked around indirectly; from the very beginning, Julian had no idea that the divorce agreement had already been signed. The truth about the divorce agreement would blow up sooner or later. A strange glint flashed in her eyes. "At the very least... delaying it buys us a moment of peace and quiet."

Ms. Coleman couldn’t fathom the old madam’s thoughts. If she didn’t want Stella Sutton to marry into the family, weren’t there a myriad of ways to stop it? What was the point of deliberately stringing Sophie along?

But on second thought, she wondered why Sophie was being so resolute. What could she possibly be dissatisfied with when she had a husband like Mr. Sterling? Everyone knew Sophie had married above her station. Even if Mr. Sterling had a few other women hovering around him, that was just how men in such high positions were. If Sophie couldn’t accept that, she was just bringing trouble upon herself.

"Could she be seeing someone on the side?" Ms. Coleman suddenly clapped her hands together. Unless the situation was so urgent that she absolutely had to leave, why else would she be so uncompromising?

Madam Sterling’s movement of thumbing her Buddha beads abruptly stopped. For a fleeting moment, a sharp displeasure crossed her usually peaceful and benevolent face as she glared coldly at Ms. Coleman. "The Sterling Family does not tolerate anything that damages our family reputation. Watch your words in the future."

Ms. Coleman looked terrified and hastily lowered her head.

The old madam frowned for a long while before finally looking back at the enshrined Buddha statue. "Look into the people Sophie has been associating with recently."

***

Not long after Sophie returned to the hospital room, a nurse came knocking on the door. She hurried over to unlock it, and the nurse came in to take Lydia’s temperature.

Before leaving, the nurse handed Sophie a brand-new, unopened pair of Birkenstock sandals from her cart. "Put these on. I noticed your feet are blistered."

Sophie was surprised. "For me?"

The nurse smiled and handed her two disposable iodine cotton swabs. "I happen to have a spare pair. Don’t mention it." As if afraid she would refuse, the nurse left quickly.

Sophie blinked and checked the shoe size. It was her exact size. Was her luck actually this good? She had originally planned to ask Ivy Hawthorne to bring her a pair of shoes. This saved her the trouble. She used the iodine swabs to disinfect the cuts on her toes before changing into the new shoes.

There really were more good people in this world. Sophie silently deemed the nurse a good Samaritan.

Lydia’s fever had broken in good time. After staying by her side all night, Sophie was still thinking about her trip to the Civil Affairs Bureau. Checking the time, she decided to ask Ivy to come over in a bit. Sophie hadn’t dared to let Mr. Caldwell know about Lydia’s condition. Mr. Caldwell and the others loved Lydia to the bone; if they found out, they would undoubtedly fly into a rage.

Ivy arrived with breakfast. She walked over to the bed and touched Lydia’s pink, tender cheeks before lowering her voice. "What’s so urgent that you have to leave right now?"

Sophie looked at the sleeping Lydia and straightened her clothes. "I’m going to get a divorce."

Ivy’s eyes widened. "Damn! So sudden?"

Sophie turned her head to look at the gloomy gray sky outside. It looked like it was about to snow, and the north wind was howling. "It’s not sudden. I’ve been suffering for far too long for this moment."

If Julian’s actions hadn’t implicated Lydia, she might have had a bit more patience. She really ought to thank Julian for letting her see him so clearly.

Ivy stepped forward and gave Sophie a hug. "I’ll wait for you to come back." It was time to kick the scumbag to the curb and enjoy a happy life!

Sophie smiled and nodded. She went downstairs, hailed a cab, and headed straight for the Civil Affairs Bureau. Halfway there, she gave Julian a call, but the line indicated he was on another call. She wasn’t sure if he was really on the phone or if he had simply hung up on her. Too lazy to try again, she directly typed out a text message and hit send.

—[10:00 AM, Eastgate District Civil Affairs Bureau.]