Chapter 157 He Is the Backer

Chapter 157: Chapter 157: He Is the Backer

Gasps echoed through the room in an instant, accompanied by the CRASH of toppling wine glasses. It happened too fast for anyone to react.

It took Sophie Winslow only a second to realize she couldn’t dodge. Instinctively, she turned around to protect her vitals. Before she could fully process the situation, a dark silhouette lunged forward, blocking the light. Sturdy arms wrapped around her, and she felt a familiar body heat. Something heavy smashed into the back of the person shielding her, causing him to stagger slightly and pulling her down onto the sofa in front of them.

Sophie subconsciously grabbed the fabric of his shirt. The entire sequence was a blur, offering no chance for anyone to react.

The massive wine rack smashed onto the marble countertop, shattering glasses all over the floor. Shards flew in every direction. A large hand reached out to shield her face, catching the flying sharp fragments just in time.

Sophie’s pupils trembled slightly. She saw numerous bloody scratches on the hand just inches from her face. Startled, she looked up, meeting a pair of usually cold, unfeeling dark eyes.

In that single second, she saw the chilling fury that suddenly erupted in Julian Sterling’s gaze. This man, who normally wouldn’t bat an eye even if the sky fell, wore a terrifying expression at this moment. The hand that had blocked the glass for her was still bleeding, but he merely frowned and quickly scanned her from head to toe. Gripping her arm, he pulled her to her feet.

"Are you hurt?" Julian’s tone was icy.

Sophie’s ears rang for a moment. In that split second, she wanted to say something. "Julian! Are you alright?"

Before she could compose herself, someone shoved her hard. Sophie turned her head to see Stella Sutton already standing in front of Julian, looking at his wounds with a face full of worry. They were both covered in spilled wine, looking exceptionally disheveled.

Stella turned around and glared at Sophie with resentful, cold eyes. "Julian got hurt for no reason! Don’t you think you’re bad luck?!"

Stella was furious, posturing exactly like a lawful wife seeking justice for her husband. But Sophie had no time to deal with her questioning and accusations, much less care about where Julian was injured. Without asking another word, she hurriedly looked toward Lydia’s direction.

The scene was in complete chaos. The massive wine counter had collapsed into a total mess, affecting quite a few people nearby. If she remembered correctly, Lydia was also in that area. An adult wouldn’t be able to withstand that impact, let alone Lydia.

When Sophie looked over, she saw Adrian Hawthorne holding Lydia completely in his arms, wrapping around her protectively. Surrounded by shattered glass, Adrian had a faint scratch on his cheek. At the critical moment, Adrian had saved Lydia from harm.

Sophie’s hanging heart finally settled back into her chest. She immediately ran over, suppressing the urge to pull Lydia into her arms. Her breathing was shaky as she looked at Adrian. "Are—are you okay?"

She stammered out the question. Adrian could see the worry in her eyes—the lingering fear that something terrible could have happened to Lydia. But to the onlookers, it looked like she was worried about him. Julian leaned against the sofa, glancing over expressionlessly without any particular emotion.

Adrian’s gaze was deep. He stared at Sophie, enunciating every word to comfort her. "Sophie, it’s okay. Everything is fine. I rushed over fast enough. Lydia is safe, and I’m perfectly fine too."

As he spoke, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Julian, who had already stood up. It had all happened too fast. Even if he had wanted to save Sophie, he wouldn’t have made it in time. After all, Lydia was there, and he knew Lydia was Sophie’s lifeblood. But Julian had just been... too fast. Sophie was completely unharmed.

Seeing Sophie’s red eyes, Lydia reached out from Adrian’s arms to hug her, wiping the corners of her eyes. "Don’t be scared, Lydia is fine. I’m sorry..."

The little girl was a bit sad. If she hadn’t insisted on protecting her things, maybe her mother wouldn’t have been frightened and almost gotten hurt. Lydia couldn’t help but look over at Julian, whose white shirt was now soaked with red wine.

"It’s not your fault, baby. You weren’t the one who bumped into the table," Sophie said, looking at Lydia seriously, telling her word by word.

Perhaps Sophie’s words and tone were too pointed. Stella glared over with a cold face. "Why did you drag Julian just now to keep yourself from getting hurt?"

At those words, even Adrian’s eyes grew a few degrees colder. Sensing an argument brewing, he gave Sophie a reassuring look, then covered Lydia’s ears.

Sophie thought she had misheard. She turned her head and met the other woman’s eyes.

The surrounding crowd was gradually coming to their senses. Everyone had been badly frightened; such a tall wine counter collapsing was no joke. Stella’s remark snapped everyone out of their shock that Julian Sterling would actually protect an irrelevant woman. Was it Sophie who forcibly grabbed Mr. Sterling? Was that why there was a "protective" scene?

Stella’s smile vanished, her eyes full of accusation. "Julian’s clothes were torn by you. Please don’t drag others down with you, okay?"

At her words, many people looked over. The fabric on Julian’s chest was indeed wrinkled and messy. But the current situation was a bit awkward. One was Mr. Sterling’s girlfriend, and the other was Mr. Hawthorne’s confidante. Offending either would be bad.

Seeing everyone looking over, Stella softened her tone and spoke magnanimously, "Julian was so close to me. He was going to take my hand and leave. I didn’t expect you to strike first and forcibly pull him away, causing me to almost get smashed. But it’s fine. Even if it was a mistake, it counts as doing a good deed. However, Sophie, not only are you ungrateful, but you’re also dropping hints to blame someone else. Don’t you think that’s inappropriate?"

Just now, Sophie had said it wasn’t the child’s fault. Who was she trying to imply was at fault? Could it be her brother, Seth Sutton? Stella couldn’t say this explicitly; after all, it would displease Adrian.

Sophie didn’t expect the other party to have the audacity to lecture her, spinning the narrative to make it seem like she had intentionally grabbed Julian to harm Stella. Her eyes turned icy. Seeing Adrian covering Lydia’s ears, she finally spoke up.

"What? The big beast couldn’t teach the little beast properly? Playing the robber and acting like a cannonball, ruining someone else’s grand opening celebration... Miss Sutton, don’t you feel any guilt? If their auspicious start is ruined because of your brother, whose fault is it?"

Stella’s face sank abruptly.

Beast?

Sophie’s choice of words was an open slap to the face, completely lacking any indirectness. But right now, she couldn’t retort. After all, everyone had seen that it was Seth who bumped into the table. Sure enough, the entertainment club owner’s face turned a bit sour. Sophie’s words were the truth. A perfectly good omen for the opening was gone.

"It’s on me."

Finally, a deep, magnetic voice came from behind. The steady, unperturbed tone made Sophie’s heart drop. Everyone looked over.

Julian, likely injured, was leaning against the sofa. His white shirt had long been dyed red with wine. His profound dark eyes slowly looked into Sophie’s. "I’ll take responsibility for today’s losses, and Sterling Corp will cover the follow-up promotional investments."

A single sentence settled all the brewing storms.

Meeting his eyes, Sophie felt as if she had been burned by a splash of sulfuric acid. Just a moment ago, she had put Stella in an awkward spot, and now, Julian was willing to act as Stella’s backing and confidence.

Instantly, Stella looked at Julian with deep emotion, her eyes full of tenderness. She swept a glance over Sophie from the corner of her eye, welling with a sense of high-and-mighty triumph.

She smiled and asked, "Sophie, are you satisfied with this answer?"