Chapter 170 Julian Sterling’s Birthday

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Julian Sterling’s Birthday

Peter Preston also understood the purpose of Stella Sutton’s visit.

Coming over so quickly—her motives were far too obvious.

Sophie Winslow let out a soft scoff. "Helios is Helios, and the database is the database. What makes you think Faye would do you that kind of charity?"

Stella couldn’t help but find it amusing. "Sophie, does this have anything to do with you?"

It certainly wasn’t Sophie’s place to speak here.

With that, she looked at Peter with feigned regret. "Mr. Preston, you know how it is. I lead a massive team; I can’t do things based purely on personal relationships, or my subordinates won’t respect me. Let me be frank with you. My team genuinely wants to negotiate the licensing fee, but if we can’t reach an agreement, we need to protect our own interests. We’ll have no choice but to... terminate the contract."

Sophie narrowed her eyes. This was somewhat unexpected. She knew exactly how badly Stella needed her database. And now, she was terminating the contract over something like this?

Peter waited for her to continue.

Stella added, "We signed a contract previously stating that in the event of a breach, the licensing fee is non-refundable. As it happens, I’ve only paid for one year. Helios probably has some negative PR to deal with recently anyway, so consider this money a small token of my goodwill. I’m sure we’ll still have opportunities to collaborate in the future."

She was certainly talking a good game. Sophie could tell that Stella had come today with the sole intention of terminating the contract. Threatening to cut the licensing fee was likely just a smokescreen.

Peter glanced at Sophie. Seeing no reaction from her whatsoever, he finally spoke up. "Then it seems we aren’t meant to work together. Don’t worry, Miss Sutton. Here at Helios, we don’t force people against their will."

Stella smiled. "I’m glad you understand, Mr. Preston."

"Coleman, see our guest out." Peter had no intention of continuing the idle chatter.

Stella was in a fairly good mood. Right before leaving, she glanced at Sophie as if suddenly remembering something. "Sunday is Grandpa’s death anniversary. Are you coming? Julian and I will be arriving a bit late."

Sophie hadn’t expected this curveball. As far as she was concerned, she had cut ties with Isaiah Sutton a long time ago. Let alone some grandfather’s death anniversary, even their father-daughter bond had long been severed. Not to mention, she now knew a hidden truth: she was neither a child of the Winslow Family nor the Sutton Family.

But the focal point of that sentence was her saying she and Julian would be arriving late. She spoke in a condescending, high and mighty tone, as if *they* were the married couple.

And Julian had actually reached the point of attending the death anniversary of an elder from the Sutton Family. He was practically announcing his intent to become their son-in-law all over again.

Sophie scoffed softly. "I’ve never met the grandfather, so we aren’t close. But if it were *your* death anniversary, feel free to send me an invitation." Without waiting to see Stella’s reaction, she turned on her heel and left.

A fleeting look of displeasure crossed Stella’s face. Sophie was completely impervious to reason; to put it bluntly, she had lost all sense of self-respect and was merely holding on by relying on her sharp tongue.

But Stella didn’t mind the rudeness. There was no point in arguing with someone so narrow-minded. She had much more important things to do.

Over the next few days, Peter visited the hospital to check on the condition of the woman and the patient.

Thanks to Sophie’s timely intervention, the golden window for resuscitation had been extended. The person was now out of danger, though they hadn’t been able to get any useful information out of them.

Sophie didn’t care much about it. "Whether it was intentional or not, and despite Stella jumping out to terminate the contract at this critical juncture, we haven’t suffered any losses. It’s just a canceled contract. We earned a year’s licensing fee for nothing, and we stopped Stella from using my database. There’s really no downside here."

She knew this wasn’t a coincidence. But it didn’t matter. She had far too many important things on her plate to worry about something so trivial.

However, Peter soon brought new information.

"Stella’s team has brought in some new blood. Apparently, they hired an expert. Since the database collaboration fell through, they brought someone in to rewrite it from scratch. They’re making a massive fuss over it. Word is they’ve even registered a patent, and things are going so smoothly that they’re already running tests."

"That fast?" Sophie was somewhat surprised. What kind of expert worked with such high efficiency?

Peter shrugged. "Ivy Hawthorne told me today that she bumped into them while out on a shoot. Julian was there too. It looked like they were having a celebratory dinner. I’m guessing the preliminary phase of the project has already been approved. She seems pretty confident, having a victory dinner this early on."

Although Sophie found it a bit surprising, on second thought, the project team was stationed at Longview, and Longview had Julian backing it. Money makes the world go round. Julian could secure the absolute best resources for them. Naturally, there wouldn’t be any bottlenecks, making their efficiency vastly superior to most companies.

She lowered her head to text Lydia an update on today’s events, completely ignoring the topic of Julian. "Then congratulations to her."

Peter looked at Sophie’s placid face and let out a silent sigh.

She had decided to separate, decided to let go, and claimed not to care. But could she truly remain completely unaffected in such a short amount of time? She had to watch helplessly as her own husband provided money, affection, and resources to uplift his mistress.

Seven years. How many seven-year stretches did a person get in their lifetime? She was simply gritting her teeth and forcing herself to move forward.

Sophie truly didn’t want to care about what Julian was doing to escort and protect Stella this time. Obviously, it was his intervention that gave Stella so much leverage. Fortunately, their projects were completely unrelated and didn’t interfere with each other, so they wouldn’t be an eyesore for her.

Later, Sophie received a call from Madam Sterling.

"Sophie, the 19th is the Sterling Family’s grand anniversary celebration, which happens to coincide with Julian’s birthday. Manage your schedule and make sure you leave that day open."

Despite the seemingly benevolent tone, Sophie felt a bone-deep chill. She used to think too highly of the Sterlings, which was why she felt so uncomfortable now.

As for Julian’s birthday, she was well aware of it. In the past, she would painstakingly prepare for it every single year. If he was out of the country, she would even take time off work in advance and fly halfway across the globe to celebrate with him. Even when he treated her with cold indifference, she used to endure it gladly. Just sharing a meal with him would leave her perfectly content, after which she would catch an overnight flight back, utterly exhausting herself in the process.

Now, she wouldn’t do that anymore. She needed to learn to love herself more.

"I might be busy."

"What could you possibly be busy with? I heard from your mother-in-law that you don’t hold any important position at your company. How could that be more pressing than a major family event?"

Sophie didn’t want to argue. She had witnessed the old madam’s methods firsthand. The Sterlings were not reasonable people; their word was absolute law.

"Alright, I’m just reminding you. Just make sure you arrive on time." Madam Sterling finished, then routinely urged, "How are things between you and Julian? Coleman mentioned that you two haven’t been going home lately. How are you supposed to conceive a child at this rate? Sophie, you need to put some effort into this. Men are driven by certain desires. If you take the initiative, do you really think Julian would refuse to sleep with you?

"Don’t forget, if there’s no good news within three months, your divorce application will be voided."

Sophie’s temples throbbed. The feeling of someone else holding her by the throat was far from pleasant. If it weren’t for the fact that Lydia’s existence absolutely could not be exposed, she would have torn up all pretenses with the Sterling Family right then and there. Even if it meant facing their retaliation, she would have risked it all.

Taking a deep breath, Sophie replied, "Okay."

"Good girl."

She ended the call and calculated the days. The three-month mark was fast approaching. A sense of urgency told her that she needed to brainstorm a few more backup plans. At worst, she would just drag Julian back to apply for the divorce all over again.

The Sterling Family’s grand anniversary celebration was an extraordinarily lavish affair. Coupled with the fact that it was also Julian’s birthday, Sophie could almost imagine what a magnificent spectacle it would be.

When the day arrived, someone drove over bright and early, parking outside the marital home to wait for her. Left with no choice, Sophie had to make an appearance. There would be a massive crowd today anyway, so she could just blend into the background.

She didn’t have much jewelry, so she took out the brooch Adrian Hawthorne had gifted her and pinned it on.

Upon arriving at the venue and before she could even head inside, she received a WhatsApp message from Peter.

*Mr. Preston: Sophie, something has happened.*