Chapter 130 Mr. Sterling Really Dotes on His Wife

Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Mr. Sterling Really Dotes on His Wife

Sophie Winslow had no idea what was happening on Evan York’s end. She drove Hector Caldwell’s Mercedes smoothly all the way back to the neighborhood.

Lydia had been excited the entire ride. She sat in the back with Adrian Hawthorne, chattering away about childish things. Adrian was a patient man; he listened quietly, chiming in every now and then. Sophie glanced in the rearview mirror. He wasn’t naturally an affectionate person, but she could tell he was trying his best to humor the little girl.

Halfway through the drive, Adrian noticed her gaze and met her eyes in the mirror. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Sophie asked, "Is Lydia being a handful?" After all, he had just returned from a flight that was over ten hours long, and he still couldn’t get a moment of peace.

"Not at all," Adrian replied, looking at her. "You don’t need to be so polite with me."

Sophie agreed aloud, but she knew better. Adrian wasn’t Lydia’s biological father, and he certainly had no obligation to take on these responsibilities. She couldn’t just take his kindness for granted.

At Hector Caldwell’s home.

As soon as the three of them walked through the door, Sophie saw a pile of exquisitely packaged shopping bags in the living room. There was barely enough room to step.

Ms. Sinclair smiled warmly. "Mr. Hawthorne’s secretary just delivered these personally. You really shouldn’t have gone to such expense."

Hector Caldwell had a very good impression of Adrian, finding him steady and reliable. "No need to be so polite. At the end of the day, we’re basically family."

After all, Adrian was Lydia’s legal father. His help to Sophie had been immense; without him, she would have had a very hard time keeping her child safe over the years.

Adrian nodded. "Most of it is nutritional supplements. For Ms. Sinclair, there are some newly released silk scarves and skincare products. And for you, Mr. Caldwell, some oil soot ink for your calligraphy. None of it is particularly valuable."

Mr. Caldwell stroked his beard with a smile. "How thoughtful." The gifts hit the mark perfectly, making it hard to decline them.

Lydia tilted her head back. "Is there anything for Mommy and me?"

Sophie couldn’t help but admire her daughter’s quick wit.

Adrian glanced at Sophie, a subtle ripple in his gaze. "Of course. How about we open them after dinner?"

Lydia thanked him with such formal earnestness that even Adrian’s lips curved into a smile.

"Let’s eat," Mr. Caldwell said. "The spring bamboo shoot and pork soup is perfectly stewed today. Come have a taste."

Spring was the perfect season for bamboo shoots. Sophie loved them and eagerly waited for the lazy Susan to rotate her way.

Adrian noticed her anticipation, stood up, and served her a bowl. Setting it beside her hand, he warned, "It’s hot, be careful."

Sophie was absolutely famished. She thanked him and immediately dug in.

Mr. Caldwell, however, shot Adrian a thoughtful look. He clinked glasses with him and asked, "How long do you plan to stay now that you’re back, Mr. Hawthorne?"

"If all goes well, maybe half a year," Adrian replied. "Things in Vesparia haven’t completely wrapped up yet."

Mr. Caldwell nodded, then added pointedly, "You must be thirty by now, right, Mr. Hawthorne? Have you given any thought to marriage?"

Sophie immediately shot Caldwell a look. Young people nowadays despised being pressured into marriage.

Adrian didn’t seem bothered. He gave a faint smile. "It’s in the plans."

Only then did Mr. Caldwell glance at Sophie, who was still fully focused on her bowl of soup. Feeling a flash of exasperation at her density, he had no choice but to say, "You’re a man with a plan, Mr. Hawthorne. When it comes to matters of the heart, protecting someone for just a part of their journey doesn’t mean much. Going all in and standing by them to the very end is what makes it real."

Adrian’s assistance to Sophie was, ultimately, just one leg of the journey. Given her complicated situation, if he truly harbored any intentions, it wouldn’t be enough unless he was prepared to completely fall out with the Sterling Family.

Sophie found the conversation completely over her head, but she wanted to help Adrian end the topic. "Caldwell, Mr. Hawthorne has his own pace. Why are you trying to lecture him?"

Mr. Caldwell was speechless. He thought she was a dense blockhead. A man could be handing her his heart on a silver platter, and she would probably wonder if it was a new type of peach.

Adrian caught the glaring look Mr. Caldwell shot at Sophie and knowingly raised his glass again. "I understand."

Ms. Sinclair watched from the sidelines, almost bursting into laughter a few times.

The rest of the meal passed in harmony.

Halfway through, Sophie noticed an incoming call from the landline at her marital home. She checked the time; it was almost nine o’clock. Since Adrian was chatting with Mr. Caldwell, Sophie quietly slipped out to take the call outside.

"Madam? Are you still working overtime? Or did you go out?" Ms. Coleman’s inquiring voice came through the receiver.

Knowing full well she was being checked up on, Sophie asked in return, "Is there something you need?"

"It’s just getting late," Ms. Coleman said. "You should probably come home soon, Madam."

A dull ache throbbed in Sophie’s head. They were already divorced, the papers were signed and finalized, yet because of this current situation, she was still being controlled. She felt like a mere surrogate trapped inside the respectable shell of a marriage. She had no freedom whatsoever.

She scoffed, though her tone remained as casual as ever. "Do I have to file a report on what time I’m coming home, whether I come home at all, and who I socialize with?"

Ms. Coleman was instantly rendered speechless.

Just then, Adrian stepped out from the inner room and called out from a distance, "Sophie?"

Sophie looked back and promptly hung up the phone.

At the marital home.

Ms. Coleman turned around in trepidation, looking at Julian Sterling as he walked through the front door. Over the past few days, the couple had both been coming home. She had just made the call on speakerphone, and Julian had heard almost everything as he walked in.

"Mr. Sterling, the Madam seems to be busy. I think she might have gone out with friends," Ms. Coleman said, carefully choosing her words. After all, there had clearly been a man’s voice just now...

Julian’s dark, profound gaze swept past the landline. He lowered his eyes slightly and began unbuttoning his cuffs. "I heard."

Someone had just called Sophie’s name. The voice was distorted by the phone and sounded distant, making it hard to hear clearly.

Ms. Coleman observed Julian’s mood. But as always, his thoughts were deeply guarded; he never showed his joy or anger on his face. She wondered if he simply didn’t care that much.

Unable to read him, Ms. Coleman simply asked, "I noticed the Madam hasn’t unpacked her suitcases at all. Should I go and hang everything up for her now?"

Julian finally halted his long strides. He turned his head to look at her. "She has her own arrangements for her things. She doesn’t like it when others presume things."

With that, he headed straight upstairs.

Ms. Coleman watched his retreating back. She felt that Mr. Sterling actually understood his wife quite well, but she couldn’t figure out how things had gotten this bad between them if he truly understood everything.

It wasn’t that the two had never argued in the past. But mostly, it was Sophie doing the yelling, while Mr. Sterling would set aside whatever work or task he was doing and just sit there watching her. He would look as if he were listening intently, letting her vent until she was done scolding him, before asking, "Are you hungry? Do you want some durian puffs?"

The Madam would just glare at him, her anger completely deflated.

Back then, she had thought Mr. Sterling treated his wife quite well. At the very least, he had never spoken a harsh word to her. One could even call it indulgence.

The only time she had ever personally witnessed Mr. Sterling lose his temper was before their wedding. Someone had sold scandalous photos of Sophie to the media. To make matters worse, Madam Sterling had finalized their marriage certificate without even consulting the couple, and there hadn’t even been a wedding. At the time, no fewer than five print media companies went bankrupt.

It was all Mr. Sterling’s doing.

Ms. Coleman shook her head. She wondered why he would dismantle so many media companies if he didn’t love her, and yet, if he did love her, why he had been so unwilling to properly wed her after Madam Sterling forced the marriage certificate on them.

Later that evening.

Lydia now knew how to use WhatsApp. When Sophie and Adrian were getting ready to leave, the little girl pestered them into taking a group photo together. Adrian didn’t mind, so Sophie just let her have her way.

Sophie was sitting in Adrian’s car when she saw Lydia’s Moments post. The little girl hadn’t written a caption; she merely posted the photo with a smiley face emoji.

It really did look like a family portrait.

Even though it felt a bit weird, Sophie supportively gave the post a like.

Adrian turned his head to glance at her.

"Is your divorce certificate finalized?"