Chapter 72 Get Him Drunk and Have a Baby

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Get Him Drunk and Have a Baby

Jean Hayes could completely empathize with Sophie Winslow’s predicament. Unlike the others, she had zero tolerance for that bullshit rhetoric of "the one who is unloved is the real homewrecker." Though her tone hadn’t been overly harsh, she fully intended to knock Stella Sutton down a peg.

Sure enough, when she asked such a blatant question in public, the expressions of everyone present grew complicated. After all, some affairs were better left as unspoken understandings. Dragging them into the light only made things awkward.

Stella was clearly displeased. She wondered if Jean really lacked that much tact. She was already linking arms with Julian Sterling; asking such a question was entirely redundant. She even suspected that Sophie had been spreading gossip or instigating trouble behind her back.

Julian merely lifted his gaze. He didn’t look the least bit uncomfortable.

Someone nearby hurriedly chimed in to smooth things over. "Jean, isn’t it obvious? It’s Miss Sutton, of course. Is there any other special woman by Mr. Sterling’s side?"

Sophie was already accustomed to the sheer messiness of their social circle. It was as if being faithful to a partner would shave years off their lives.

Jean knew very well that none of these people had ever seen Sophie’s face. Feigning panic, she said, "Oh, what should we do? I already invited Mrs. Sterling on WhatsApp. Would it be... appropriate for her to come now?"

Stella could tell that no one else present knew Sophie’s true identity. Still, her face darkened, and she cast a cold glare at Sophie, who hadn’t said a word this entire time. For Sophie to show up here with such a lack of tact—did she honestly think anyone other than Stella would be Julian’s date? Stella thoroughly despised this sort of covert, desperate vying for attention!

"Then you should quickly message her, Jean. Just find an excuse to turn her away," a bystander suggested, trying to be considerate of Julian and Stella.

Jean’s expression soured. After all, she and Julian were the only ones who knew the actual Mrs. Sterling was standing right there, listening to all this heart-piercing gossip! She wanted to speak up for Sophie and tear away Stella’s facade, but she had to consider Julian’s pride. That was just how this circle worked; every word and action came with a price.

"Just receive guests as usual." Julian spoke up calmly, seemingly entirely unbothered by the situation. He didn’t even spare a glance at Sophie.

Jean wasn’t the only one who understood his meaning. The others caught on as well, breaking into knowing smiles. With Mr. Sterling here, it wasn’t like his wife would actually dare to make a scene anyway.

Naturally, Sophie also grasped the underlying meaning behind Julian’s words. After all, she had never been publicly acknowledged as his wife. If Julian wanted to protect Stella, he had a thousand ways to silence her. In the end, she would be the only one left humiliated. If she caused a public scene while her husband blatantly protected another woman, no one in this social circle would sympathize with her. They would only mock her.

She absolutely refused to become fodder for gossip over a man who was about to become her ex-husband. It simply wasn’t worth it.

"Julian, come have some dessert with me. I’ve been stuck in the Kingsford University lab all day and haven’t eaten a thing. I’m getting hungry," Stella said. Unsure of what Sophie might do, she decided it was best to lead Julian away first.

Julian nodded. "Alright."

The two of them walked off, tacitly treating Sophie like she was invisible. With the main couple gone, the rest of the group quickly followed suit and dispersed.

Sophie withdrew her gaze. She felt so calm it was almost laughable. Turning to a disgruntled Jean, she said, "Jean, this is my gift to you. I’ll show you how to use it in a bit."

Jean let out a heavy sigh and took Sophie’s ice-cold hands in hers. "Sophie, I’m so sorry. I sent Julian a separate invitation and explicitly told him to bring you along, but he..."

"It’s fine. I don’t mind," Sophie replied, her tone perfectly placid.

Jean just assumed she was speaking out of spite. Even though Sophie didn’t appear visibly heartbroken, Jean’s strong sense of empathy made her face scrunch up in distress. "I know it hurts. But who doesn’t go through this? Just look at my husband—I have to turn a blind eye to half the things he does. That primal, animalistic nature is just bred into their bones. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Try to look past it."

Sophie simply smiled in response. In truth, she was already looking past it. But she could never turn a blind eye. She refused to swallow such grievances or settle for a miserable half-measure of a marriage for the rest of her life. She would rather smash it all to pieces and start over.

"Though, I have to say, ever since we had a child, he likes coming home a lot more," Jean noted, looking at Sophie with earnest advice. "Sophie, why don’t you try to get pregnant? Once a man has a child, he gradually develops a sense of family responsibility. It might just be enough to make him cut ties with that homewrecker."

A child? She had already given birth to one. But her child would never be used as a bargaining chip to win over a man. Nor would she ever let her child grow up facing a father who couldn’t even grasp the concept of fidelity.

"If you’re willing, I can help you out. My husband has a few bottles of excellent wine. Take them home and have Mr. Sterling drink some. Who knows? Sparks might fly, and a baby will naturally follow." Jean was genuinely worried about Sophie and just wanted to help her however she could.

Sophie wanted to say that they were on the verge of finalizing their divorce. But remembering Madam Sterling’s strict orders to keep the separation a secret, she decided to simply decline the well-meaning offer.

Just then, the sharp click of leather shoes against the floor paused directly behind her.

Her heart inexplicably skipped a beat. She turned her head, only to see Julian passing by, holding a glass of fruit wine that completely contradicted his usual stern image. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who it was for.

His dark eyes slowly fixed on her face. Although he didn’t show any overt emotion, Sophie’s lips instantly pressed into a tight line. A wave of unprovoked irritation washed over her.

He had heard them...

She absolutely did not want him misunderstanding her like this! She parted her lips, wanting to tell him not to get the wrong idea—she would never sink so low as to get him drunk just to sleep with him.

However, Julian merely let out a faint, almost imperceptible scoff before turning and walking away.

Sophie was speechless.

A surge of nameless anger made her chest heave. She hastily excused herself, telling Jean she needed to find someone. She needed to make things clear with Julian. She refused to swallow this kind of indignity. He was about to be her ex-husband—who in their right mind would want to have his baby?

But Julian had a long stride, and the hotel was bustling with people. Sophie failed to catch up to him. Left with no other choice, she headed toward the exit.

She had barely taken a few steps when she heard someone call her name.

"Sophie? You’re Sophie Winslow, right?"

Sophie turned around. A man was striding toward her, his eyes full of obvious delight and admiration. After giving her a quick once-over, he said, "I watched your live broadcast. I was actually planning to ask the production crew for your contact info, but to think I’d bump into you here! If this isn’t destiny, I don’t know what is."

Sophie was dumbfounded. She hadn’t expected to encounter such a textbook case of misplaced male confidence.

"Excuse me, I have matters to attend to." Having absolutely no desire to entertain him, she turned to leave.

The man’s face darkened with displeasure. "What are you running from? It’s not like I’m going to eat you. I just wanted to add your WhatsApp and get your number so we can grab a bite sometime."

"I’m not interested, thank you."

The moment the words left her mouth, the man grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. "It’s just contact info. There’s no need to act so high and mighty, is there?"

A wave of disgust washed over Sophie, and her expression turned icy. She tried to yank her arm away, but before she could break free, a frigid voice rang out from behind her, instantly followed by a flying fist.

"Let go of her!"