Chapter 55 Sophie Winslow, Bring Your Husband Out for Everyone to Meet

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Sophie Winslow, Bring Your Husband Out for Everyone to Meet

Upon seeing Stella Sutton’s arrival, the Kingsford University team looked over with joy. "Don’t worry about it, Stella! We should be thanking your boyfriend for sponsoring this event.

"Yeah, if it weren’t for you, how could we have gotten such generous bonuses?

"You’re practically our boss’s wife now," someone chimed in, blending awe with flattery.

Weren’t they right? Since Mr. Sterling had sponsored them on Stella’s behalf, he was their ultimate boss and provider. Naturally, Stella more than deserved to be called the boss’s wife! Covering her lips, Stella chuckled softly, unable to hide the delight in her eyes. "You’re all being too polite. There’s no need to treat me like an outsider."

Sophie Winslow leaned against her chair, watching this widely praised extramarital affair like a total outsider. Her gaze inadvertently fell on Julian Sterling, who stood beside Stella, looking like a man ready to move mountains to shield her from the storm. A faint smile graced the man’s lips. He didn’t deny the "boss’s wife" comment. When he devoted himself entirely to a woman, he was striking and noble. Yet, as the woman who had been Mrs. Sterling for seven years, Sophie was practically invisible.

Her menstrual cramps twisted her abdomen in sharp waves, sending ripples of pain through every nerve in her body. The agony only made her mind clearer. Sophie lowered her eyes, masking the trace of irony in them.

"What were you all talking about just now? It sounded so lively," Stella asked with a beaming smile, acting as if she didn’t see Sophie as she and Julian sat down directly opposite her.

With that, the topic instantly shifted back to Sophie. A few people from Kingsford University chuckled. One of them said with an ambiguous tone, "You don’t know this, Stella, but Miss Winslow supposedly had a romantic encounter and spent the night with someone yesterday. Rumor has it that it was her husband. We were just asking who this mysterious husband of hers is.

"Yeah, since he’s here, she should bring him out for us to meet. Or we could all grab a meal together. The more, the merrier."

As soon as the words were spoken, Sophie immediately felt a tepid glance sweep over her from the man sitting opposite. She didn’t look back at him. After all, she wasn’t the one who had exposed the secret. It was his own fault for mistaking her identity while she was on the phone, inadvertently putting on a "show of affection."

The smile on Stella’s lips vanished inch by inch, a flash of anger crossing her eyes. She hadn’t expected Sophie to broadcast this matter to everyone. Didn’t Sophie know that Julian and she were currently hailed as the perfect couple in the eyes of the public? Was Sophie that desperate to ruin them?

"This is Miss Winslow’s privacy, so let’s not get to the bottom of it," Stella said, silently furrowing her brows as she put on a show of "speaking up for fairness."

Someone immediately caught Stella’s words, chiming in, "It’s fine! I don’t think Miss Winslow would mind. You and Mr. Sterling are such a perfect, loving couple, Stella. Miss Winslow wouldn’t want to be outdone, would she?"

Evidently, the jeering grew louder. Without exception, everyone was incredibly curious about her deeply hidden husband. The Kingsford University crowd across the table looked at Sophie with smiles, their teasing obvious. "Could it be that she won’t bring her husband out because she sees how outstanding Stella’s boyfriend is? I mean, he’s basically the gold standard."

Everyone instantly grasped the implication. It would be hard to find a man who could compare to Mr. Sterling. Consequently, Sophie felt the gazes of Stella’s supporters land on her, laced with a mix of disdain, mockery, and schadenfreude. They assumed she was too insecure to drag her husband out to be publicly executed in a comparison with Stella’s "boyfriend."

She looked directly across the table at Julian, the mysterious man behind the scenes. He leaned against his chair in an endlessly languid and noble posture, casually picking up a small teapot to pour tea into the cup by Stella’s hand. Gripping the teacup, Stella returned his gesture with a sweet, faint smile.

The two of them seemed to exist within their own impenetrable bubble. He didn’t spare a single glance in Sophie’s direction. He wasn’t the least bit guilty, nor did he implicitly or explicitly warn her to watch her mouth. Throughout the entire exchange, he acted like an outsider, entirely detached from the situation. His unhurried composure felt like an ice pick, silently telling her to know her place.

Looking at the empty teacup by her hand, Sophie slowly nodded. "You’re overthinking it, Miss Sutton. I don’t consider my husband and my family to be a matter of privacy, let alone something shameful. Naturally, we can talk about it."

At her words, Stella’s expression briefly turned unnatural. With taut lips, she stared coldly at Sophie. She didn’t believe Sophie would actually dare to expose the truth in public! Was Sophie truly crazy enough to offend Julian like this?

This time, Sophie noticed Julian’s gaze shifting toward her. She sighed inwardly. Sure enough, he would only react when Stella’s pride, image, or mood were on the line. If she were to publicly call Julian her husband right now, wouldn’t the whole room explode?

"Mr. Sterling, I heard that your room was on the same floor as Sophie’s last night. Do you happen to know who her husband is?"

Suddenly, Peter Preston, who had stayed out of the conversation until now, spoke up in a faint tone. His words instantly redirected all the attention that had been focused on Sophie onto the perpetually silent Julian.

Peter’s question prompted everyone to look at Julian, but Sophie glanced at Peter instead. She understood what he was doing. He was protecting her. He was saving her from becoming the target of public criticism and preventing her from angering Julian by exposing his identity herself. He had masterfully tossed the problem right back onto the very person who caused it. As for how Julian would answer...

"Do I need to pay attention to such things?"

The man’s cool, flat voice carried no inflection, yet it held a different meaning for everyone listening. Several men from the pharmacology department exchanged glances and suddenly realized, "That’s true. With Mr. Sterling’s status, why would he pay attention to people who have nothing to do with him?"

Sophie, however, understood. Julian was not only denying his relationship with her—cutting off any chance she had of exposing Stella—but he was also subtly stating that since he was the husband in question, he had no need to answer. His words were as watertight as ever. This response signaled to everyone that he wasn’t interested in the topic, and they tactfully moved on to something else, putting an end to the matter once and for all.

Peter shot Sophie a sympathetic look. Sophie could only sigh in response. The metaphorical horns on her head were truly a pitiful sight. By now, she also understood why Julian had invited her to spend the New Year with the Sterling family, and why he had spent so much money sponsoring such a massive team to come to The Southern Province. It was because he wanted to spend the New Year with Stella. They were in the honeymoon phase of their relationship and found it impossible to be apart.

That was why he had initially tried to bring Sophie here. When she refused, he went to great lengths to bring the entire team over, forcing her to attend of her own volition. He needed her to be a human shield to pacify Old Mrs. Sterling and keep her from throwing a fit, all while he secretly engaged in a steamy romance with Stella.

Clearly, Julian had used her.

Sophie lowered her eyes, opening her hand to look at the blood-red crescent marks her nails had dug into her palm. She even mused teasingly, "It’s truly rare to find a soon-to-be ex-wife as cooperative as me. Shouldn’t I be charging him for this service?"

Stella turned to look at Peter, elegantly changing the subject. "Mr. Preston, I would love to meet Faye, the developer of your company’s Digital Chinese Medicine, for an in-depth discussion. I wonder if you could introduce us?"

The moment she spoke, many people’s eyes lit up.

"I studied the Digital Chinese Medicine database with my mentor, and it’s incredibly profound. How much was Faye involved? Was she the one who came up with those famous prescriptions alongside the top National Medical Masters?"

Countless expectant pairs of eyes in the spacious conference room turned toward Peter. Faye! That was the most resounding name in the traditional medicine circle. Digital Chinese Medicine had become an overnight sensation. As its developer and the sole formulator of several of those renowned prescriptions, Faye was naturally an idol to them!

Peter raised an eyebrow, shooting an imperceptible glance at Sophie. "That depends on your abilities, Miss Sutton. Faye is the anchor of Helios, and she has quite the personality. It all depends on her willingness."

Stella couldn’t help but frown. It seemed Peter couldn’t make decisions on Faye’s behalf either. However, she could understand it. After all, it was normal for highly capable people to be a bit arrogant.

"That’s all right. There will always be opportunities in the future." As long as she wanted it, Julian would naturally arrange a bridge for her. Given her own abilities, she was confident she would get along well with Faye. Geniuses always recognized and appreciated each other.

Sophie didn’t say a word. When Digital Chinese Medicine was first launched, she had signed off as Faye rather than using her real name. The only people who knew this secret were Peter, Mr. Caldwell, and a few senior figures from the Academy of Traditional Medicine. Over the years, many traditional medicine practitioners had claimed to be Faye, to the point where no one would believe such a claim without ironclad proof. But she didn’t care about the halo of fame anyway. She’d rather spend her time and energy researching patent medicines and fighting to get them covered by medical insurance.

Peter shot Sophie a half-smile. If they knew that Sophie was Faye, that she had majored in artificial intelligence in college under a leading authority, and that she was single-handedly bridging traditional medicine and AI healthcare to save the former from being swallowed by the tides of time... And if they knew that Sophie would be in charge of creating a smart acupuncture robot after the New Year... Wouldn’t they explode upon learning the truth? After all, human talent could sometimes be terrifyingly formidable.

The meeting proceeded smoothly. The large joint research and development team began a discussion on targeted therapies, focusing on the developmental history of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular treatments over the past twenty years. Sophie had thoroughly digested these materials as a major research project years ago, so she just sat quietly, listening to their ideas without participating.

Besides, her menstrual cramps were truly unbearable. Ever since she suffered postpartum hemorrhage while giving birth to Lydia, her body had taken a long time to recover, and the flare-ups were agonizing. She wanted nothing more than to curl herself up into a tight ball.

Lost in thought, Sophie suddenly heard a voice from across the table.

"Julian is treating everyone to red date and ginger tea. Sophie, could you help hand them out?"