Chapter 74 They Spent the Night Together, Miss Winslow, Don’t Open the Door

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: They Spent the Night Together, Miss Winslow, Don’t Open the Door

Sophie Winslow could hear it in his voice. He had likely come very reluctantly.

In all probability, Jean had realized that Julian Sterling had no intention of caring whether his wife lived or died, and was forced to speak up, compelling him to make the trip. Yet Julian had gone out of his way to bring Stella Sutton along with him, a deliberate warning to Sophie not to read too much into his appearance.

"But how did you get involved in the brawl, Mr. Langley? Are you and Miss Winslow close?" Stella asked suddenly.

The question made Stella unconsciously frown. The fact that he was willing to get into a physical fight for Sophie was entirely beyond her expectations. The mere thought that Lucas Langley might have been bewitched by the woman displeased her even more.

Lucas instinctively glanced at Sophie. Finding that she wasn’t paying any attention to him at all, he let out a cold scoff. "I just happened to run into them and couldn’t sit by and watch. Miss Winslow probably gave off some sort of signal that the other party misunderstood, which led to the whole situation."

Stella could tell that Lucas was rather contemptuous of Sophie’s character, which brought a satisfied smile to her face. Just a moment ago, she had almost suspected that he was interested in Sophie. After all, getting into a fight for a woman made no sense unless there was some romantic interest involved.

In truth, she had been even more worried that Julian might have the same thought. If that caused him to pay more attention to Sophie...

She turned her head to look at Julian, only to find him replying to a message on his phone. He had heard Lucas’s words but didn’t interject. Instead, he simply turned around to negotiate and sign the paperwork with the police officers. The words ’couldn’t care less’ were practically written all over his face.

A deeper smile brimmed in Stella’s eyes, her mood lifting significantly.

Sophie, of course, had eyes to see Julian’s reaction. She just found it somewhat comical. Even an outsider like Lucas, whom she had only met a few times and didn’t exactly get along with, would step forward when he saw her being harassed. Yet Julian, her husband of seven years, turned a completely blind eye.

"We can leave now," Julian said upon his return. He glanced at his wristwatch, his features aloof. "Are you heading back to the full-month banquet, Mr. Langley?"

Lucas had actually lost his mood for the event. "No, I’m not going back. I’ve already dropped off my gift and paid my respects. Do you have other plans, Mr. Sterling?"

Julian nodded. "Yes, I have some social engagements to attend to over there."

Lucas instantly understood and looked directly at Sophie. "Where are you going? Let me give you a ride. It’s hard to catch a cab at this hour. Mr. Sterling and Miss Sutton are going to enjoy some quality time together, so don’t be a third wheel."

It was a blatant warning to Sophie. However, she had absolutely no intention of hitching a ride in Julian’s car, with or without his reminder. After all, he hadn’t even offered to give her a lift, and she wasn’t so clueless as to miss that hint.

Stella raised an eyebrow. She liked Lucas’s words. Sophie did need to be knocked down a peg to make her understand that she shouldn’t intrude on other people’s intimate moments.

As for Julian... She glanced at him. He didn’t offer a single opinion on another man offering to drive Sophie home.

Sophie ignored Lucas. She looked down at her phone to hail a cab, only to find that there were over a hundred people in the queue ahead of her. She frowned silently.

Just then, Julian’s phone rang.

He answered it. "Mrs. Aldridge."

Sophie immediately knew it was Jean calling. Because they were standing close to each other, and Julian hadn’t lowered his phone’s volume, Jean’s voice transmitted clearly through the speaker. "Has Sophie’s situation been sorted out? If it has, could I trouble you to accompany her back to the banquet hall, Mr. Sterling? Sophie gave me some medicinal powder for the baby, and I don’t know how to use it."

Hearing this, Stella immediately furrowed her brows. What did Jean mean by that? Was she openly trying to pair Sophie and Julian together?

Lucas also looked confused for a moment. Why did Mrs. Aldridge say ’accompany’ instead of just asking him to drop her off?

Most of the time, Julian maintained impeccable manners and wouldn’t make things awkward. He agreed indifferently, "Yes, we can do that."

Jean was overjoyed. "Then I’ll wait for you both!"

Sophie understood Jean’s painstaking efforts. She truly didn’t want to be alone with Julian anymore, but the medicinal powder’s precautions and application methods really did need to be explained clearly. Since it was for medicinal purposes and meant for a baby, she couldn’t afford to be careless. She would have to make the trip after all.

By the time the cab she hailed arrived, the full-month banquet would have long been over.

Julian looked at Sophie. "Get in."

Sophie didn’t say a word and walked toward his car.

Before she even got close, Julian had already opened the rear passenger door, glancing at her sideways. Sophie’s footsteps paused imperceptibly before she climbed into the back seat, her expression unchanged.

Julian’s gesture might have seemed like a display of gentlemanly grace, but he was actually reminding her that she belonged in the back. The front passenger seat was a privilege reserved exclusively for his precious girlfriend; she wasn’t allowed to touch it.

She understood how deeply infatuated couples operated.

As soon as she got in, Sophie lowered her head and rubbed her wrist. She seemed to have sprained it when that man was pulling at her in the hotel. Her wrist was already swelling slightly, the patch of bruising radiating heat.

Julian didn’t get into the car right away. Instead, he stayed outside to chat with Lucas for a few more minutes.

Stella got into the passenger seat first, completely ignoring Sophie in the back. She naturally pulled down the vanity mirror and began to touch up her makeup. After applying her lipstick, she expertly opened the glove compartment and tucked the personal item away. Her movements were seamless and practiced.

Sophie could tell this effortless casualness came from riding in this car countless times, pampered and indulged by Julian. It symbolized an unspeakable intimacy.

Sophie offered a silent, self-deprecating smile. Even after seven years, she couldn’t achieve the same level of comfort that Stella possessed. A woman who was truly loved really was the most relaxed and at ease.

In that instant, she suddenly felt an intense aversion to riding in the same car as them. It was far more uncomfortable than she had imagined. She began to think of how she could switch to another car to go see Jean.

At that moment, Stella glanced at Sophie through the rearview mirror and spoke in a drawl, "I’m used to keeping my bag in the back. Do you mind scooting over?"

That sense of complete entitlement, as if she had been granted a special exemption, made her act as if she were the actual mistress of the household.

Sophie hadn’t expected that even after resigning herself to the back seat as the legitimate wife, she would still be asked to yield further. "If you’re not used to it, then get out of the car yourself. For all we know, this vehicle might still fall under the umbrella of Julian’s and my marital assets," she replied tonelessly, continuing to rub her sore wrist.

Right on cue, Julian got into the car.

Stella reached out her hand and suddenly let out a soft gasp.

Julian looked at her. Somehow, the back of Stella’s hand had been scratched by a rivet on her bag. It was about a two-centimeter mark—nothing serious.

Julian looked thoughtful for a moment before turning back to Sophie. "I’ll arrange another car for you. Is it convenient for you to go see Jean on your own?"

Sophie froze. His smooth, deep, and perfectly composed tone caused her action of massaging her red, swollen wrist to pause.

"What?"

"I need to take her to get this treated," he replied steadily, his dark eyes locked onto her face.

Sophie fell silent. The words reached her lips, but she realized there was no point in wasting her emotional energy on someone she was about to part ways with forever. Pulling her injured wrist back into her sleeve, she didn’t say another word as she unbuckled her seatbelt, pushed the door open, and stepped out.

There was no need to say anything more. Stella’s tiny scratch—which would likely heal on its own if they arrived at the hospital a minute too late—had Mr. Sterling aching with heartbreak, treating it like a major crisis. She had to oblige him.

The car Julian arranged arrived quickly, as if it had been waiting nearby. It took merely a few minutes, far faster than the cab she had hailed.

Sophie had been through too much today; once in the car, she closed her eyes to rest. She didn’t go to Jean’s hotel either. After returning home, she recorded a detailed video demonstrating how to use the medicinal powder and sent it to Jean. Only then did she begin to tend to her own wrist, which had swollen beyond recognition.

Fortunately, she had long since stopped expecting Julian to pay attention to anything concerning her. Naturally, she wasn’t bothered by the stark contrast between his complete failure to notice her injury and his intense anxiety over Stella’s trivial issue.

The next day.

As soon as Sophie arrived at Helios, Renee Coleman hurried over, her face fraught with dismay. "Sophie, I went to ask Miss Sutton for the recent test data. She said their tests keep running into issues, so they can’t give it to us right now. But we absolutely need the Western medicine test data to generate our pharmacological analysis report..."

Sophie knew that Stella was likely just throwing her weight around to make things difficult for Renee. But the work needed to be done. She rubbed her temples. "I’ll head over to the Kingsford University lab and see what’s going on."

Renee heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness we have you, Sophie. But Mr. Sterling granted Kingsford University special permission to use the more advanced facilities at Longview. All of their people have been at Longview recently."

Sophie was taken aback by that. Julian’s ’love me, love my dog’ mentality was truly something. He was terrified that people wouldn’t realize just how special Stella was to him.

Gathering her thoughts, she turned and headed straight for Longview.

Sophie had actually never been to Longview before. However, after notifying the front desk, someone came down to receive her. "You must be Miss Winslow. Miss Sutton is currently in the top-floor office. Please follow me."

Sophie nodded.

While heading up in the elevator, her guide preemptively offered an excuse. "I am truly sorry. I know Helios operates on a strict schedule, but Miss Sutton’s team is really doing their best to cooperate. She even burned the midnight oil in the lab yesterday. Our Mr. Sterling was so heartbroken for her that he stayed up with her all night."

Sophie lowered her eyes, staring at her toes. "Is that so."

Right on cue, the elevator arrived.

She followed the guide toward one of the offices. Suddenly, the person stopped her, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "This is Mr. Sterling’s office. I just remembered that Mr. Sterling and Miss Sutton came back here last night. Since they’re a couple, I’m not entirely sure what the situation might be inside right now... Why don’t you have a seat here and wait for a moment, Miss Winslow?"