Chapter 53 He Won’t Be Bewitched by Sophie Winslow!

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: He Won’t Be Bewitched by Sophie Winslow!

The exhibition hall was bustling.

Julian Sterling headed downstairs after completing his purchase. Sophie Winslow chased after him without a second thought.

"Julian, wait."

Even practically running in her high heels, she could barely keep up with his long strides. Julian spun around at the bottom of the stairs. His car had already pulled up in front of him, and Clara Quinn stepped out to open the door.

Sophie didn’t see Stella Sutton around, but she couldn’t care less at the moment. She locked eyes with him, her gaze fixed on his deep, dark pupils. "That Ancient Treasure belongs to the Winslow Family. It was my grandmother’s dowry."

"Yes, and?" Julian’s expression remained completely unbothered.

She could tell that he didn’t see anything wrong with giving her grandmother’s dowry to Stella. His sheer sense of entitlement cut Sophie to the quick. She had the urge to scream and start a furious argument, but his cold, indifferent gaze acted as a sharp blade that forced her to stay rational.

"You can give her anything else. Even if you pluck the moon and stars for Stella Sutton, it has nothing to do with me. But anything from the Winslow Family—that I cannot accept." She took a deep breath, trying to soften her tone. "Julian, I’ve never begged you for anything. Just this once..."

Using forceful tactics against Julian was obviously irrational. In front of a man who didn’t love her, throwing a tantrum and making threats wouldn’t get her anywhere.

Julian rarely saw this side of Sophie. Her hands hung by her sides, her fingernails unconsciously digging into the pads of her fingers so hard the skin turned stark white. It was a gesture she only made when she was nervous or emotionally volatile.

He simply watched her expression and said unhurriedly, "You’ll have to get Stella’s permission for this. Once the item is given away, it’s hers."

Sophie instantly deflated. It felt as though crushed ice had been forced down her throat, spreading a bone-deep chill through her entire body. Did he mean she had to beg Stella Sutton? She had to rely on his mistress’s charity to get back something that belonged to the Winslow Family?

Sophie’s vision of the man before her blurred. They had previously agreed to live a good life together, and Julian used to take care of her. Why had he changed so drastically?

Julian didn’t wait for her answer. He turned and got into the car.

Sophie unconsciously took two steps forward in pursuit. But before she could come up with a solution, a cold voice sounded from behind her. "Excuse me? That’s my seat."

Sophie turned around to find that Stella had arrived at some point. She stared at the woman with an almost icy gaze. Stella simply glanced at her, brushed past, and sat down on Julian’s right. She did it with such natural arrogance and confidence, as if that seat were exclusively hers.

The car glided away.

Peter Preston and Lucas Langley came out just in time to catch the tail end of the scene. Peter immediately jogged over to Sophie’s side. "Sophie? What were you talking about with Julian?"

Sophie tilted her head to look up at the blinding yet frigid sunlight, laughing in a self-deprecating manner. "Nothing much. I was just force-fed their romance. It’s quite hard to swallow."

Actually, Julian had taught her another harsh lesson. She even had to obediently give her own husband up to Stella. That family heirloom was merely an inanimate object; how could she possibly win a fight over it?

Her head throbbed slightly, and she gave Peter an apologetic look. "I want to go back now. I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it to today’s social engagements."

Peter frowned. "Nothing else is more important right now. Let me take you home." With that, he turned to look at Lucas standing not far away. "Mr. Langley, let’s catch up another day."

Lucas, observing Sophie from the corner of his eye, nodded in response.

Once the two of them got in the car and left, a complicated expression crossed Lucas’s face. He hadn’t expected Sophie to be so eager around Julian. Even after being rejected, she still chased after him to pester him, only to be caught red-handed by his actual partner, Stella. If he wasn’t mistaken just now, had Sophie actually glared at Stella?

How could an interloper act so self-righteous?

It was fortunate that Stella had a good temper and didn’t make a fuss over it. Otherwise, given Stella’s influence on the internet, Sophie would be so severely cyberbullied she wouldn’t even be able to show her face in public.

Perhaps he really had fallen in love with Sophie at first sight. But now, he would absolutely not be bewitched by this woman again!

-

As soon as Sophie returned to Helios, she buried herself in the lab to conduct pharmacological analyses. She wanted to keep her mind from wandering into wild thoughts.

Now that they had established a joint laboratory in collaboration with Kingsford University, she had to oversee the general direction of her team. As the chief director, her responsibilities were immense. She not only had to manage drug formulation, project progress, and risk assessment, but also coordinate clinical trials and registrations. It was enough to keep her so busy she had no time to let Julian’s affairs affect her mood.

Ever since she refused his request to spend the Lunar New Year with the Sterling Family in The Southern Province, he hadn’t contacted her again. However, she was constantly thinking about how to retrieve her grandmother’s dowry.

As the New Year approached, major corporations gradually began letting their employees off for the holidays. Sophie originally intended to spend the holiday with the Caldwell family, but Peter suddenly came over and asked, "Would you mind going on a business trip over the holidays?"

Sophie hesitated for a moment. "For what?"

"The most authoritative traditional Chinese medicine base in the country is holding a public auction for some rare herbs in a few days. A couple of them are raw materials that we and Kingsford University need. The age of the herbs gives them a massive advantage, so we need to go and inspect them."

It just so happened to fall right during the New Year period.

Sophie thought about it. "I can go, but are the other team members willing?"

Peter smirked at that. "How could they not be? Our generous sponsor flexed his financial muscle. Julian is funding the entire trip. He’s covering flights, hotels, food, and lodging, plus throwing in a lavish hundred thousand in overtime pay for each person. Everyone is absolutely thrilled."

Sophie understood instantly. It was all to ensure the smooth registration of Stella’s first pharmaceutical project at Kingsford University. He truly spared no effort. She shrugged. "Well, that saves our budget."

"You’re taking this quite well," Peter sighed.

Sophie joked with a straight face, "If I didn’t take it well, I’d have already been driven to jump off the Sterling Group building just to deal a heavy blow to their stock prices."

That left Peter utterly speechless. Only Sophie could find humor in such a bitter situation.

After informing the sanatorium and Mr. Caldwell, she packed her bags and headed to the airport.

Only upon arriving at the airport did Sophie learn the destination of this business trip: The Southern Province. The Sterling Family was also located there. She felt an undeniable sense of weirdness about it. Was it really just a coincidence? But The Southern Province was massive. Shaking her head, she didn’t overthink it.

Their hotel bookings were of the highest standard. By the time the nearly thirty-person team from Helios and Kingsford University arrived, it was past ten at night. They checked into a five-star resort chain where opening the windows revealed a view of snow-capped mountains. The hotel featured hot springs and every amenity one could possibly imagine.

If it weren’t for Julian’s sponsorship, they never would have enjoyed this kind of luxury.

Sophie completed her check-in. Upon having her luggage sent to her room, she realized she had been placed in a suite nearly two hundred square meters in size. She suspected the hotel might have upgraded her individually.

She was just about to head down and ask, but as soon as she opened her door...

"Sophie, dear, you just arrived?" Madam Sterling appeared at her door, beaming at her. Beside her stood Julian, his expression completely impassive.

Sophie instantly figured it out. She stared dead straight at Julian, who didn’t shy away, meeting her gaze head-on.

Madam Sterling stepped forward and grasped Sophie’s hands. "All settled in? It’s getting late today. We’ll have a meal together tomorrow, so you two rest up first." She then nudged Julian.

Julian remained entirely unruffled. "Alright, whatever you say."

Madam Sterling walked away, chuckling happily.

Julian brushed past Sophie and stepped smoothly into her room, acting as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

This made everything crystal clear. She had been completely played.

"You purposely tricked me into coming here, didn’t you?"