Chapter 121 I Won’t Touch You

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: I Won’t Touch You

She almost unconsciously pursed her lips and edged toward the side. Julian Sterling noticed the movement. He calmly glanced at Sophie Winslow’s back but didn’t react much, simply closing his eyes to sleep. He made no other movements. The room was quiet. They were sharing a bed, but dreaming entirely different dreams—this was the very definition of it.

Sophie, however, was calculating many things in her mind. She had to be extremely cautious with every step she took from now on. As long as Lydia’s household registration remained unresolved, she wouldn’t have a day of peace. But alas, a divorce certificate issued through special channels could not be reissued. She couldn’t help but frown.

BZZZ. BZZZ. BZZZ.

From behind her came the intermittent vibration of a phone receiving pop-up messages, buzzing one after another at irregular intervals. Sophie didn’t even bat an eyelid. She could guess without looking that it had to be Stella Sutton anxiously losing her mind. After all, having witnessed firsthand that Sophie and Julian would be together tonight, it was inevitable that she would ’check up’ on him.

Behind her, Julian reached out and picked up the phone. Sophie didn’t know what he said to his girlfriend, but the phone soon fell silent. As he rolled over, Sophie did feel a bit uncomfortable, her grip on the blanket tightening.

Right then, his voice drifted over, carrying a faint hint of a scoff. "Sleep peacefully. I won’t touch you."

Sophie was taken aback, but then she understood. He wasn’t making a promise to her at all; he was expressing his unwavering loyalty to Stella, fully embodying the physical boundaries of a good boyfriend. He had probably sent the exact same words to Stella just a second before saying them to her. Otherwise, the phone wouldn’t have quieted down tonight.

Able to ignore Julian’s presence now, Sophie thought about Lydia’s situation and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Early the next morning, when Sophie woke up, it was only just seven o’clock. She turned around. Julian was already gone. She didn’t know when he had left. He probably felt the same way she did—unwilling to share the same space—and had vacated the master bedroom early.

After washing up, Sophie went downstairs. Ms. Coleman immediately came over to greet her, her eyes evaluating Sophie’s condition. "Madam, did you sleep well last night?"

Sophie knew what the other woman wanted to know; she was asking openly.

"Not bad," she replied dismissively. Knowing that there were eyes and ears everywhere, she naturally wouldn’t reveal her true temper. At the very least, her primary task was to placate Madam Sterling at the Sterling family’s ancestral home.

Only then did Ms. Coleman smile with satisfaction, ushering Sophie over to have breakfast.

Julian had already finished eating and was adjusting his suit. Hearing her approach, he looked over.

Ms. Coleman immediately seized the opportunity. "Mr. Sterling, why don’t you drop the Madam off at her company later?"

Julian shot Sophie a mild glance. He didn’t refuse.

Sophie didn’t say much either. Since they were playing the roles of a loving couple, they might as well play it to the end. Both she and Julian had their own reasons for needing a divorce. In a way, they could even be considered to be... on a united front?

They got into the car, and the vehicle glided smoothly out of the estate garden. Sophie and Julian sat on opposite ends of the backseat. The distance between them wasn’t that far, but there was an inexplicable, unbridgeable boundary drawn between them.

Julian lowered his eyes to look at his phone. In the gap between replying to messages, he glanced at Sophie. "The first installment of the investment funds for Helios will be transferred today. When is your project going to launch?"

Sophie replied half-heartedly, "Didn’t you say you only provide the funding and wouldn’t interfere, Mr. Sterling?"

"There is a fundamental difference between inquiring and interfering," he said.

"..." Sophie turned her head to look out the window. "If you’re curious, go communicate with Mr. Preston. Why ask a nobody like me?"

Julian unhurriedly swept a glance over her profile, a smirk of inscrutable emotion tugging at his lips. "Fair enough."

They fell into silence again. It was as if they simply had nothing to talk about, nor the interest to find a topic to break the awkwardness.

The car arrived at the base of Helios Tower. After getting out, Sophie bent down and looked at him through the car window. "Please make time to go back and see Madam Sterling, Mr. Sterling. I hope you take this matter to heart. It’s best not to drag it out." She was overtly reminding and urging him.

Julian looked at her and was just about to speak when his phone rang. Sophie looked over and saw a video call from Stella Sutton popping up.

Julian answered it almost immediately and told the driver, "Drive."

Sophie received no response as the Maybach drove away from her sight. What an inseparable pair—having a long video chat first thing in the morning. It was an eye-opener for someone like her, who had been his wife for seven years. So this was how people dated. Those seven years of hers were completely like a modern-day Penelope, stubbornly waiting in her desolate home—all she did was wait, and wait some more.

She retracted her gaze and went straight upstairs.

Peter Preston had also found out that Sophie’s divorce hadn’t gone particularly smoothly.

"It might seem like you’ve gotten the divorce certificate, but it’s more like a ticking time bomb. You’ve lost all your initiative." Even a good-tempered man like him couldn’t help but tap the table in frustration. The way these prominent families did things was truly ruthless. They were just bullying Sophie for not having a powerful maiden family to back her up.

He suggested, "How about you just publicly announce that you’re Faye? That you’re Mr. Caldwell’s Closed-door Disciple, and the talent the National Academy of Somatic Medicine once wanted to make an exception to recruit into their core elite team? If you can smoothly win an award in the future, you could have a prominent political path ahead of you. That way, even Madam Sterling will have to weigh the consequences."

Sophie rejected the idea. "My current urgency to get the divorce certificate is entirely for Lydia. Exposing my identity as Faye would bring glory, but it would also become a double-edged sword. The halo around Faye is too bright. Once people know, they’ll dig deep. Having given birth as Faye is something I can’t hide from a powerful prominent family with such immense influence."

Although she was anxious, she didn’t want to make a risky move. "Let’s play it safe for now. Julian has already promised me he’ll get it back. Although he’s a cold and unfeeling person, he won’t go back on his word." Sophie was quite certain of this. As a man, Julian hadn’t fulfilled his duties as a husband in their marriage, but she couldn’t pick any flaws in him in other aspects.

Peter hesitated to speak, eventually only able to say, "We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it." He then added, "The approval conference starts the day after tomorrow. Once the drug is approved, it can go on the market. We need to brace ourselves and get that approval stamp."

Sophie knew about this conference. Normally, drug approvals wouldn’t involve such a grand spectacle. However, this year happened to coincide with the once-in-five-years Pharmaceutical Regulatory Conference. The higher-ups would be dispatching officials down, making it an unprecedentedly grand event. If her drug passed smoothly and the team was officially credited, Helios would once again make a name for itself, building upon the foundation laid by ’Digital Chinese Medicine’ back in the day.

"I have inside information. Rumor has it that Ms. Winnie Hayes will be present as the chairwoman to serve on the review panel," Peter said.

Sophie was surprised. Ms. Winnie Hayes? That was a scientific researcher who had won a Nobel Prize. Approaching eighty years of age, she still hadn’t retired from the front lines. She was an absolute national treasure, the very soul of the country’s scientific prowess.

Peter added, "You know her background, too."

Sophie was confused. "Background?"

Only then did Peter shrug. "She’s the matriarch of the York family, Mr. York’s biological grandmother."