Chapter 183 I Have No Romantic Relationship with Stella Sutton

Chapter 183: Chapter 183: I Have No Romantic Relationship with Stella Sutton

Sophie Winslow calmly glanced toward the area where Philip Preston was seated.

This event catered to individuals with a certain social standing, ensuring that the charitable initiatives could be practically implemented. As she made her way over, Sophie greeted quite a few familiar faces. Since they might cross paths in the business world later, she was in no rush to immediately head over to Philip’s side.

After taking her time mingling, Sophie finally spotted the three people sitting under a parasol in the distance.

Philip still wore his usual, eternally amiable expression. He looked at Julian Sterling and chuckled, "Miss Sutton is quite fortunate to have Mr. Sterling pull strings and arrange this special meeting with me."

Given Philip’s current reputation and status, ordinary people needed an appointment to see him, and even then, it wasn’t an easy feat. However, Julian always had the right connections and channels.

Julian didn’t seem to notice the teasing in Philip’s words. He replied smoothly, "Thank you, Director Preston, for giving us this opportunity." He showed no arrogance toward his elder, merely offering a calm, faint smile.

Philip frowned imperceptibly.

Stella Sutton, on the other hand, cherished this opportunity. She had been deeply worried that the patent incident would cause Philip to hold a permanent prejudice against her and ultimately reject her application. She desperately needed a highly respected industry leader to help her establish a firm foothold.

"Director Preston, I didn’t know previously that Faye was your junior apprentice sister. But there truly is a misunderstanding regarding this matter. I came here today hoping we could resolve it face-to-face, rather than being swayed by false rumors from the outside," Stella explained.

Who could have guessed that Faye was also Hector Caldwell’s apprentice? She realized that this was why Hector had seemed so haughty and dismissive of her at the time. With every one of his apprentices being the cream of the crop, she had inevitably appeared insignificant in comparison.

"A misunderstanding?" Philip snorted a laugh. "I wouldn’t go that far."

It was an ironclad fact; calling it a misunderstanding was out of the question.

Unable to gauge Philip’s true attitude, Stella grew anxious. However, Philip didn’t look at her again. Instead, he stared directly at Julian. "What a coincidence, Mr. Sterling. You and your wife arrived right after one another. Since you’re both here, let’s all sit down and have a chat."

Stella stiffened, her expression suddenly darkening.

Julian remained unhurried and didn’t respond.

Philip was already waving toward Sophie’s direction. "Sophie, come over here! Sit down and rest for a bit with your husband and his employee."

Sophie caught the distinct glint in Philip’s eyes, knowing full well that her senior apprentice brother was probably about to stir up some trouble.

As she walked over, Julian’s gaze naturally shifted to her face. He didn’t seem surprised to see her there.

Philip, acting as though he was completely oblivious to their impending divorce, shot a glance at Stella. "Miss Sutton, make some room. Change your seat and let Sophie sit next to Mr. Sterling. They are a legally married couple, after all."

Stella’s breathing hitched, her limbs growing stiff. The massive scene Julian and Sophie’s relationship had caused that day was impossible to hide from Philip, after all. But in front of him, she couldn’t afford to leave another bad impression. No matter how unwilling she was to let Sophie gain the upper hand, she had no choice but to stand up.

Sophie watched as Stella vacated the seat next to Julian. However, she didn’t move to take it; instead, she sat in another chair that wasn’t too close to him.

Julian paused slightly, casting a slow, unhurried glance her way. His eyes held an indiscernible emotion.

Stella knew Sophie was just putting on airs, pretending to be aloof and indifferent. It infuriated her, but there was nothing she could do. She had never expected Sophie to be here today. Sophie was such a sycophant, using Peter Preston to track Philip’s whereabouts just to come over and curry favor, entirely disrupting Stella’s plans!

The atmosphere instantly turned bizarre. Sophie acted as if she were completely invisible, while Julian seemed even more detached from the situation.

Philip broke the silence. "You came here today because you’re worried I’ll hold a prejudice against you and reject your doctoral application, right?"

Feeling a bit insecure, Stella said sincerely, "Many things were just misunderstandings. I don’t want you to have any misconceptions about me."

She dared to say this because she knew Faye was no longer pursuing the matter. She was gambling on the fact that Philip didn’t know the specific details. As long as Faye wasn’t pressing charges, Philip should logically let it go too. As for Sophie, having received benefits from Julian, she was even less likely to run her mouth and smear her name.

Philip put on a look of understanding. "Does that mean your extramarital affair with Mr. Sterling is also a misunderstanding?"

Instead of continuing the topic of the patent, Philip steered the conversation straight toward their private affairs.

Stella’s lips tightened, her pupils trembling in shock.

Julian finally lifted his eyelids.

Sophie was left speechless. She knew it—her senior brother was not someone to be trifled with.

Feigning partial ignorance, Philip turned to Julian again. "Is that so, Mr. Sterling? Miss Sutton has no illicit relationship with you and is merely one of your thousands of employees?"

Stella’s lips turned pale. She could tell that Philip was leaving them no way out. Sophie also understood Philip’s motive—he wanted a definitive answer from Julian.

Biting her lip, Stella looked pitifully at the man sitting with his legs crossed. Of course, she would much rather Julian declare her importance to him in front of everyone—especially in front of Sophie—to slap Sophie right in the face.

But...

"Yes, she’s an employee."

Julian’s tone was naturally cold. His unhurried delivery made it nearly impossible to detect his true state of mind.

Sophie abruptly turned her head to look at him. In that moment, she was genuinely surprised. She had assumed Julian would offer Stella his infinite favoritism, just as he always had in the past.

Stella’s chest heaved as her hands, resting on her knees, tightened into fists. She gritted her teeth and shot Sophie a resentful glare. She wondered if this was Sophie’s purpose for coming here today—to gloat over the fact that Julian had publicly acknowledged her as his wife, and to intentionally humiliate Stella by exposing their relationship. Sophie was utterly despicable!

Philip caught a glimpse of Stella’s expression and felt satisfied. He fully admitted that he was doing this on purpose. His junior sister had a lively personality and rarely caused trouble, yet there were always maggots insisting on getting in her face and disgusting her. Having weathered storms for the better part of his life, what kind of monsters and demons hadn’t he dealt with?

He knew exactly where to strike for maximum damage.

Aside from her initial surprise, Sophie felt nothing else. There was no joy or sorrow, because some facts were simply facts; she wouldn’t deceive herself.

As for Julian’s attitude... He wasn’t denying his relationship with Stella just to give Sophie face as "Mrs. Sterling." In reality, if Julian had denied the employee claim and admitted it was true love, Stella’s chances with Philip would be completely ruined. At the end of the day, Julian was still looking out for Stella’s future.

"An employee, huh? No wonder you two are so close; you must discuss a lot of business together," Philip said, setting down his water glass. "But still, there should be boundaries between men and women. Look at Stella Sutton, following you around every day—doesn’t that easily ruin marital harmony?"

Julian gave Sophie a faint glance. "Does Sophie mind?"

Sophie hadn’t expected his sudden counter-question. She wanted to curse him out for being a slippery old fox.

Before she could, Philip glanced directly at Stella and cut in, "Bow and apologize to Sophie, and I’ll consider letting go of my prejudice against you."