Chapter 154 A Family of Three vs. a Family of Three?

Chapter 154: Chapter 154: A Family of Three vs. a Family of Three?

Julian Sterling heard everything as well, showing no obvious signs of surprise. He merely lifted his chin slightly, his tone unhurried. "There’s still plenty of time. No need to rush."

Stella Sutton immediately understood—Julian already had a countermeasure.

His single reassurance put her at ease. After all, Julian was her strongest backing and guiding light. As long as he was there, there was nothing she couldn’t accomplish. Even though she had been feeling somewhat anxious a moment ago, a wave of warmth swelled in her chest, bringing a sweet smile to her face.

Finn Lockwood glanced at her expression and chuckled. But he still sounded incredulous as he added, "We all know how strict the National Academy of Somatic Medicine is. Has Director Preston gotten so old that he can’t distinguish right from wrong anymore? Blatantly pulling strings for his own son—isn’t he afraid of ruining his reputation?"

Julian narrowed his eyes. "Helios probably hasn’t revealed all their cards yet. It might not necessarily be Philip Preston pulling strings."

At this, Finn frowned. "There’s one more thing. I heard that Sophie Winslow is directly involved in Helios’s brain tumor robotics project. They seem to be treating her exceptionally well over there."

The sweet smile on Stella’s face vanished instantly, only to be quickly replaced by a sense of relief.

"The technological barriers of that project destine it for failure. It doesn’t matter whether she’s involved or not," she said. Integrating traditional acupuncture for precise hemostasis? It was nothing but a pipe dream. Even in a well-funded project group, it would be utterly futile.

Julian didn’t express any opinion. He seemed to have little interest in the topic of Sophie.

For the past few days, Sophie had been so busy she barely had time to catch her breath. She hadn’t returned to the marital home for a solid week, practically living at the company with the rest of the team.

During this time, Ms. Coleman would call her from the house at a fixed time almost every day, dropping hints to urge her to come home early. It wasn’t until Sophie explicitly stated that she was too busy to return that Ms. Coleman finally backed off in disappointment.

As for whether Julian came home, Sophie neither cared nor was she curious.

With resources deployed by the National Academy of Somatic Medicine, Sophie’s progress was incredibly encouraging. She threw herself into her work with even greater devotion. Family, marriage, a cheating husband and his mistress—she cast all of it to the back of her mind.

Halfway through the week, Adrian Hawthorne sent her a message: "I’ve arrived in Kingsford."

Sophie noted that Adrian had indeed stayed in Veridia for quite a while. But she chewed on the cap of her pen, wondering why he was reporting his whereabouts to her. Wasn’t it a bit strange?

Especially since she had lost the ring he had gone out of his way to retrieve for her at the restaurant. It left her feeling as though she couldn’t properly account for it. She had specifically asked the caregivers and nurses at the hospital to keep it safe for her if they found it, but there had been no news so far.

However, Sophie didn’t have time to overthink it.

Peter Preston soon approached her. "We need to urge Julian’s side for the second phase of funding."

The initial phase of their progress had consumed a significant amount of capital, as early-stage investments always took the lion’s share. Lucas Langley’s three hundred million had already hit the account, but Julian’s investment was divided into three installments.

They simply had too many areas that required funding. Sophie knew this all too well; none of the various equipment and operational costs were cheap.

"I’ll give him a call," she said.

While she was at it, she needed to press him about getting their divorce certificate.

Sophie waited until her lunch break to make the call. The first time, he didn’t answer. The second time, he didn’t answer. The third time, he hung up on her.

Sophie couldn’t help but frown. Julian was obviously busy, or perhaps he simply didn’t want to speak with her directly. But the matter of the funding allowed for no delays.

Turning on her heel, Sophie headed straight for Sterling Corp.

She had rarely visited Sterling Corp over the years, spending her seven years as Mrs. Sterling as a complete invisible entity. Coming here now, she enjoyed no special treatment whatsoever and had to follow the standard protocol of making an appointment first.

Standing at the front desk, Sophie actually felt an urge to laugh. She had gained absolutely nothing from her role as Mrs. Sterling—no public acknowledgment, no internal privileges, and certainly no affection from her husband. All she had was a meaningless marriage certificate. She didn’t even have as much prestige as his mistress, Stella Sutton.

"I’m sorry, ma’am, but Mr. Sterling isn’t here right now. I’m afraid it won’t be convenient for him to see you today," the receptionist replied with a flawless smile after confirming with the executive office.

For a moment, Sophie couldn’t tell if he was genuinely out or simply refusing to let her upstairs.

"When will he be back?" Sophie wasn’t quite willing to back down.

The receptionist hesitated for a second. "My apologies. Special Assistant Quinn from the executive office said that Mr. Sterling went to accompany his girlfriend today, and suggested you come back another day."

Sophie understood instantly. No wonder Julian hadn’t answered his phone. He was busy and didn’t want to be disturbed by her.

Appointments required a name, meaning Clara Quinn knew exactly who was waiting downstairs but still refused to grant her access. She even went out of her way to inform Sophie of Julian’s whereabouts. It was nothing more than a deliberate attempt to humiliate her, or perhaps a hint to make her leave tactfully.

Naturally, Sophie wouldn’t make things difficult for the receptionist. After all, it wasn’t her decision to block her.

As she walked out of the Sterling Corp building, it belatedly dawned on Sophie. Did this mean she had just been kicked out? Even though Julian had given her shares in Sterling Corp upon their divorce, she couldn’t even make it past the lobby doors.

She had less freedom to come and go than Stella, the "legitimate" mistress.

Unable to contact Julian, Sophie was out of options. Urging for the funds and the divorce certificate both had to be put on hold.

After returning in defeat, Sophie received a call from Adrian.

"Mr. Hawthorne?"

There was a brief silence on Adrian’s end. "Sophie, we don’t have to be so formal with our titles."

Sophie wasn’t particularly strict about this; it was just that her relationship with Adrian had always been strictly business, and she was used to calling him that.

"Are you free today?" Adrian didn’t push the matter, asking patiently instead.

Sophie glanced at the time. "Yes, I actually have the day off today."

She hadn’t been back to her marital home in a week. A person couldn’t keep running on fumes forever; she needed to take it easy today.

It was quiet on Adrian’s end, making his voice sound crystal clear. "There’s a new entertainment complex opening soon. They sent me an invitation to their pre-opening trial party. Would you like to take Lydia out with me to have some fun?"

Sophie subconsciously mulled it over. In truth, she rarely had the chance to take Lydia out to play. Not to mention having both a ’mom’ and ’dad’ take her out together. Lydia had always missed out on that aspect of life. But the little girl was well-behaved and never demanded anything.

Because of this, Adrian’s proposal instantly softened Sophie’s heart. "Sure. Would it take up too much of your time?"

"It won’t," Adrian said. He paused for a couple of seconds before chuckling softly, reminding her, "I am Lydia’s father, after all."

Sophie felt a little embarrassed. This wasn’t supposed to be Adrian’s responsibility, yet he didn’t mind shouldering it at all.

"I’ll go pick up Lydia first. You can take your time getting ready," Adrian decided firmly.

The thought of getting to spend time with Lydia put Sophie in a great mood. After agreeing, she headed to the lounge to freshen up and change her clothes.

By the time Adrian’s car arrived downstairs, Lydia had already rolled down the window and was waving at Sophie.

The moment Sophie got into the car, Adrian, seated in the driver’s seat, handed her a small thermos. "Mr. Caldwell mentioned that you’re sensitive to the cold. It might get a bit chilly over there tonight, so keep this with you to drink."

Sophie accepted it. "Thank you."

Adrian glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "It’s nothing."

As Sophie redid Lydia’s braids, she thought to herself that with Adrian’s personality, he would probably make a great husband when he eventually married.

Upon arriving at their destination, they found the venue to be truly magnificent. Today was an exclusive, private party, and the guests were all either extremely wealthy or highly influential.

Lydia was thrilled the moment she stepped out of the car. However, restraining her excitement, she trotted back and squeezed herself between Sophie and Adrian. With her two small hands, she grabbed onto both of them. "Let’s not get separated, okay?"

Sophie couldn’t help but laugh.

Just as she crouched down to pinch Lydia’s cheek, an obnoxious child’s voice rang out: "Stella! Julian! It’s the bad woman and Lydia Hawthorne again!"