Chapter 88 Giving Her the Antique Shop as a Dowry

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Giving Her the Antique Shop as a Dowry

Sophie Winslow couldn’t clearly see his expression, yet she could acutely feel Julian Sterling’s clear, purposeful attitude. He wasn’t showing her appropriate care out of their years of marriage. Even this seemingly timely comfort was... profitable for him.

Even though she no longer cared about him as a person, Sophie still felt a burning sensation on her cheeks.

"Give me a reason," she said.

"I’ve already told you. There were no surveillance cameras at the scene of the incident, and the police couldn’t find anything conclusive." Julian’s voice was exceptionally clear and indifferent in the darkness.

But Sophie heard the hidden meaning behind his words. "Do you think I pushed her and just don’t want this ugly love triangle exposed if things blow up? Or do you think Stella Sutton is lying, and you don’t want her investigated by the police?"

It was nothing more than these two reasons. But no matter which one it was... both trampled her into the mud. She couldn’t even call it chilling; she just felt disgusted! The former showed Julian’s utter lack of trust in her, his wife of seven years. The latter meant that even if he knew Stella was framing her, he didn’t care. He only cared about whether Stella was happy and protecting her reputation.

"Does it matter what I think?" Julian had already adapted to the darkness. Looking down at her, he saw her cold, mocking expression. He raised a hand, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "If this gets out of hand, it will implicate the Sterling family’s reputation. How are you going to explain this to Grandma and Grandpa?"

His movements were clearly so gentle, yet upon hearing those words, Sophie almost laughed out loud. Every breath she took felt like it was burning her lungs. "To make me let this go, you’re using the Sterling family to pressure me."

He wasn’t worried about her being questioned by the Sterling family at all. It was nothing but a sugar-coated threat!

Julian didn’t give her a response because the elevator doors opened. Light spilled in once again. Just as Sophie got a clear look at Julian’s expression, he had already withdrawn his hand from her waist and taken a step back, retreating to the distance of "unrelated strangers" avoiding suspicion. Even though his movement was subtle, Sophie caught it.

There were people gathered outside the doors. Seeing members of the Kingsford University team, Sophie instantly understood why Julian was avoiding suspicion. He was afraid others would overthink things. After all, he was now publicly Stella’s boyfriend and had to maintain his distance from all other women—including his not-yet-divorced wife. A flash of irony crossed Sophie’s eyes.

Upon arriving at the clinical trial center, she had no intention of withdrawing the case. Even if it blew up into a massive scandal, she would deal with the Sterling family’s questioning when the time came.

The clinical trial process was quite complex, and every step was exceptionally strict. After all, medication safety was the top priority. She reviewed the ingredient ratios for Stella’s Western medicine. It didn’t meet her expectations; the efficacy didn’t reach the mark of excellence, and the side effects hadn’t been minimized. In the long run, the cons would likely outweigh the pros.

Sophie called a meeting with Helios and Kingsford University. She intended to overhaul Stella’s formula.

Halfway through the meeting, someone knocked and entered, bringing in coffee and desserts.

"Mr. Sterling specially treated everyone to this. He said it’s to thank you all for taking care of Miss Sutton recently. There’s enough for everyone."

Voices of pleasant surprise rose one after another.

"Oh my god! I had stopped believing in love, but Mr. Sterling and Stella really showed me that pure love still exists."

"Stella is an absolute winner in life. Whether it’s her career or her relationship, she’s winning on all fronts."

A latte and a cherry cupcake were soon placed next to Sophie’s hand. The flavors were exactly what she liked. Yet, they were merely the medium through which Julian expressed his affection for Stella to outsiders. Even if Stella was kicked off the project, he would clean up her mess and use perks to buy people’s loyalty, ensuring no one could say a single bad word about her... Sophie took one look and looked away. She had truly learned her lesson about just how deep their bond went.

Regarding the change to Stella’s formula, everyone had remained silent before Julian sent the treats. Now, however, objections began to surface one after another, with people subtly and overtly voicing their grievances on Stella’s behalf. But in the end, the person in charge from Kingsford University made the final decision to approve Sophie’s adjustments.

Clinical trials were a tedious process. Word that she had come to Calyx Hospital for clinical work reached Peter Preston’s father, Philip Preston. As her senior apprentice brother and the Director of Calyx, despite an age gap of nearly thirty years, Philip immediately called to assign her a task. "You’re a prime target, and I’d be a fool not to exploit you. The traditional Chinese medicine department has been insanely busy lately. I have a last-minute business trip out of the province, so you need to cover my shifts."

"Am I a workhorse to you?" Sophie asked.

"More like a stubborn mule, but one with high production value," Philip replied.

Speechless, Sophie accepted her fate. The traditional Chinese medicine wing was right next to the clinical center. It was close enough that she could easily run back and forth.

Sophie saw patients all day, so exhausted she was seeing stars. Just as she was about to finish, a nurse added another patient to the queue. "Dr. Winslow, there’s a last-minute addition. Thanks for your hard work."

Sophie sat back down. The door pushed open. When she saw the two adults and one child walk in together, looking for all the world like a family of three, she couldn’t even muster a ripple of emotion on her face. How interesting. With so many doctors available, they just had to shove themselves right in front of her. Did they need her to praise them? Compliment them on being so deeply in love?

Seeing it was Sophie, Stella asked, "Why is it you? Isn’t there supposed to be a senior specialist?"

Sophie put on her surgical mask. "I’m covering the shift. If you don’t want a consultation, get out. If you do, sit down."

Julian, holding Seth’s hand, looked at her upon hearing this. Sophie, of course, knew exactly what that look meant. He was upset that she was being rude to his precious darling.

"Seth has been getting dizzy a lot lately. We wanted to see how traditional Chinese medicine could help regulate his body," Stella said, glancing at Sophie with a businesslike tone.

Julian sat to the side and added unhurriedly, "He experiences chest tightness and shortness of breath after exercise. His hands and feet tend to swell, and his face easily turns red."

Hearing Julian recount every meticulous detail about another man’s child with such thoroughness, acting exactly like a devoted, responsible father, Sophie’s pen paused as she recorded the symptoms. Ironically, Lydia, his own biological daughter, could never experience this kind of affection from him. Sophie knew it all too well. If she hadn’t hidden Lydia’s existence, even if they truly lived together as a family of three, Julian would undoubtedly still neglect them. Lydia would only end up heartbroken day after day from the lack of a father’s love and care.

"Julian, you’re going to be a great father in the future. I’m very reassured," Stella said with a deep smile, sweeping a glance at Sophie from the corner of her eye.

Julian’s phone rang. He stood up. "I need to take this."

Stella smiled sweetly. "Okay, I’ll stay with Seth for the rest of the consultation."

Julian turned and left the room without sparing Sophie another glance.

Sophie didn’t even look up, completely dismissing Stella’s thinly veiled implication about having children with Julian. She checked Seth’s pulse, performing the standard diagnostic methods of observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation.

"Excessive obesity and pediatric metabolic syndrome. In severe cases, it can lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. He needs to completely cut out snacks and sugary drinks. If he has sleep apnea, he’ll need to be hospitalized to regulate his body," Sophie said calmly.

"You’re talking nonsense! You’re a bad woman just doing this to bully me!"

The moment Seth heard he wasn’t allowed to have snacks or drinks, he threw a tantrum. He grabbed the decorative stand next to Sophie’s hand and smashed it. The brat moved with a speed that was impossible to guard against. He specifically targeted the valuable items in the consultation room with unerring accuracy, smashing every single one onto the floor.

Stella raised an eyebrow. "Seth, this is her office. Stop making a fuss." She voiced a protest but made no move to stop him.

Sophie sat coldly in her chair. She couldn’t stop this crazy little monster anyway—the more she tried to stop him, the worse he would act out. So, she simply took out her phone and started recording a video.

Seeing Sophie recording, Seth smashed things with even more vigor. Once he finally had enough, he looked at Sophie provocatively. "I knocked you down hard on your butt last time. You should know how tough I am by now, but you still dare to mess with me?"

Stella raised an eyebrow. "He’s just a child. An adult like you surely won’t make a big deal out of this."

Sophie nodded and glanced at the utter mess scattered across the spacious consultation room. "This, this, and this are the private collection of 3D anatomical models belonging to Director Philip Preston of Calyx. This is Director Preston’s personal honor trophy. And this is a rare orchid that the Director painstakingly cultivated. It’s worth a million, and he treasures it dearly."

Stella’s expression changed drastically. "Whose?"

Sophie looked over, tilting her head. "Director Preston. The chief disciple of Mr. Caldwell and an academician of the National Academy of Somatic Medicine. Didn’t you know?"

Stella wanted to become a disciple and enter the National Academy of Somatic Medicine, yet here she was. Sophie almost wanted to congratulate her for completely botching such a winning hand.

Stella’s face stiffened. She only knew Sophie was covering a shift here today, but she had no idea whose office this was. She stared at the wreckage on the floor, then glared at Sophie. "Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

Sophie’s face turned cold. "So if it belonged to someone else, you’d just let this little beast trample all over it?"

"Who are you calling a beast?" Stella’s eyes turned cold.

Sophie found the focus of Stella’s anger baffling. She simply waved her phone. "The video is recorded. Go kowtow and apologize to Director Preston."

Ignoring Stella’s darkening face, she turned and left the consultation room. She called security over to handle the situation, then drafted an itemized list of all the valuables Seth had destroyed and had someone deliver it to Stella.

She knew Stella would hold a grudge against her for this. But it didn’t matter. What Sophie didn’t expect, however, was for the retaliation to come so quickly.

The next day.

She ran into Isaiah Sutton and Maeve Walsh at the hospital.

"As your father, I can overlook the fact that you pushed Stella and caused her to offend someone, but you need to apologize to her," Isaiah Sutton said bluntly. "Let’s do this—Julian is going to divorce you sooner or later anyway, and Stella really likes the Winslow family’s antique shop. Just transfer it to her name."

Sophie’s expression changed. "What do you mean?"

"This antique shop will serve as Stella’s dowry when she marries into the Sterling family."