Chapter 184 Why Haven’t You Ever Mentioned Having a Child With Me

Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Why Haven’t You Ever Mentioned Having a Child With Me

Stella Sutton’s expression instantly turned grim. Did they really expect her... to bow and humbly apologize to Sophie Winslow? As if Sophie deserved it!

Julian Sterling cast a thoughtful glance at Philip Preston. The director’s attitude, both explicitly and implicitly, was entirely protective of Sophie. Even if Sophie had met Philip through Peter Preston, Philip’s blatant favoritism toward her was a bit too much. The current situation left Stella with absolutely no dignity.

Unwilling to truly bow her head, she bit her lip and looked at Julian. She had always overshadowed Sophie since they were children; she refused to apologize to someone she considered beneath her. Besides, what had she even done wrong? Julian didn’t love Sophie—that was something Sophie needed to reflect on herself!

"Director Preston, with so many eyes on us today, it’s quite inconvenient," Julian offered. "If you’re amenable, I would also like to make a modest contribution to the foundation and donate thirty million."

He turned his gaze slightly, staring at the specially designed "Yiankang" sign nearby for a moment before proposing this solution. Today’s event was meant to raise funds for charity. Many severely ill children from impoverished families were suffering terribly, and funding was crucial. It required the collective strength of many people to support them. Ideally, getting the wealthy prominent families to open their wallets was the best outcome, but in reality, these prestigious families had never been the soft-hearted sort.

Philip couldn’t help but take another look at Julian. Thirty million. That was truly generous.

Sophie couldn’t help but cross her arms and let out a light scoff. It seemed that Stella’s unbending spine was worth an astronomical thirty million. And that very same pride equated to life-saving money for countless children.

She looked at Julian with near-mockery. For some reason, the image of the severely injured yet quietly stoic Julian she had hidden in the attic over a decade ago resurfaced in her mind. Back then, they had spent twenty days together. She had been testing various herbal remedies at the time. The herbs were incredibly bitter, but since she lived in the countryside, she could only buy milk tablets during the occasional market days. Every time she drank a bowl of medicine, she would carefully count out and eat just one milk tablet.

Julian had refused to take his medicine; his will to live was extremely low. Thinking he was just afraid of the bitterness, she would bring her own bowl of medicine—which she had to taste daily—and sit by his bed to drink it with him. The bitterness often made her grimace, but because she had so few milk tablets, she couldn’t bear to eat them herself. She gave him all her remaining sweetness. She had even hiked to the town late at night to bring back a whole new jar of milk tablets, shoving them into his hands to coax him into taking his medicine.

It wasn’t until the seventh day that Julian spoke his first words to her: "Whatever medicine you need to taste, I’ll taste it for you."

For the next half-month, she experienced what felt like the sweetest period of her life. She fed Julian all the medicine that Caldwell had required her to drink. She had marveled at the time—how could anyone drink such an incredibly bitter mixture of herbal juices without batting an eye? If only he could taste them for her for the rest of her life.

But she woke up from that dream very quickly. Julian left without saying goodbye. The large stash of milk tablets she had given him was eventually found by her bedside. She had even counted them. Only one was missing. Julian had taken just a single tablet, leaving all the rest for her. It was as if the boy who had shown her that soft-heartedness was nothing more than a prolonged illusion. And now, looking at the Julian who pampered another woman in every possible way, she felt truly ridiculous. To think her pure, soft heart had been tricked by such petty favors back then.

"Fine," Sophie finally spoke. She didn’t want to dwell on this issue any longer. The damage couldn’t be erased with a simple apology. If they continued this standoff, she would only see Julian employing even more ruthless methods for Stella’s sake. It was a meaningless contest.

Only then did Julian slowly look at Sophie, his gaze steady and unruffled.

"Let’s just leave it at this," Sophie said to Philip. "Thirty million can help hundreds of families. It’s well worth it."

She had let it go. Since she no longer cared about Julian, why obsess over getting an "explanation" or an "apology"? Without another word, Sophie stood up and turned to leave.

Stella let out a sharp sigh of relief and looked at Julian with deep emotion. "Julian..."

Julian didn’t say anything more; he merely curled his lips into a faint smile.

When Philip came over later, Sophie was reviewing the foundation’s current assistance files. Some of the children were barely two years old and already battling critical illnesses. At such a tender age, having never seen the beauty of the world, they spent their days lying in hospital beds, hooked up to tubes, counting their few remaining days. A wave of sadness washed over her.

Philip, who had spent most of his life deeply entrenched in the medical field, had seen too much and was long accustomed to it. Still, he gently patted Sophie’s shoulder. "With funding, they will slowly recover."

Sophie understood this too. She even considered how incredibly worth it this was—trading a single apology from Stella for so many adorable, young lives.

Knowing what was on her mind, Philip let out a heavy sigh. "How are things at Longview? Has everything been arranged properly?" He could easily imagine that the company wouldn’t be very peaceful at a time like this.

Sophie set down the files and shook her head. "I still need to sort things out. We have quite a few ongoing negotiations and orders. Word always gets out when it comes to Stella’s patent issue; it’s highly taboo in the industry. Many of our partners are adopting a wait-and-see approach, so a lot of the collaborative funds haven’t arrived yet. But Longview’s production lines are complex, and every step requires massive amounts of capital. With everyone withholding their payments, it’s really not a good situation."

These were collaborations worth hundreds of millions, each step inextricably linked to the next. And since she had promised to protect Stella, she naturally couldn’t kick her out of Longview just yet.

"Then you need to find a way to stabilize your reputation first," Philip said. "This is a PR battle."

On top of that, Stella was currently embroiled in a mistress scandal, meaning the partners also had to consider the public fallout. Sophie understood this logic; she was just missing an opportunity and a clear PR direction.

Many industry professionals had been invited today, along with some of the children who had largely recovered thanks to the foundation’s funding. Sophie loved children, so halfway through the event, she went over to interact with them.

One little girl bore a slight resemblance to Lydia. She was thin and tiny, and Sophie immediately pulled out her ever-present stash of candies and milk tablets from her bag.

"Thank you," the little girl said shyly.

Sophie smiled gently. Noticing the girl’s messy braids, she offered with practiced ease, "Can I help you fix your hair?"

After getting a nod of permission, Sophie began to tidy the little girl’s hair. She was very dexterous. In the past, to tie the prettiest little buns for Lydia, she had spent countless hours watching video tutorials. She had even bought a mannequin head to practice on, terrified that her clumsy hands might accidentally hurt Lydia.

When Julian walked over, he happened to witness this exact scene. Sophie wasn’t a rigid person; her demeanor entirely depended on who she was with. Toward the little girl, she was incredibly soft-spoken and expertly coaxed out her smiles. Moreover, she was surprisingly good at braiding hair.

Even though she didn’t have any children of her own.

Julian’s eyes flickered slightly as Lydia’s face unexpectedly surged into his mind. He figured she had just gotten the hang of it from spending so much time with Lydia Hawthorne.

He strode over with his long legs, stopping just a step behind Sophie. "You like children that much?"

Hearing his voice, Sophie paused her movements. She unconsciously frowned and replied without even turning her head, "None of your business."

Julian ignored her attitude. "If you like them, why haven’t you brought up having a child in our seven years of marriage?"

Sophie had never actively or explicitly expressed things like, "I want a baby," or "Let’s start trying." Her eyes flashed. As if she had ever dared to bring it up before! Right after they got married, Chairman Sterling had forced her to secretly sign a divorce agreement; their marriage had an expiration date. If Lydia hadn’t been an unexpected surprise, she truly would never have asked for one.

"Didn’t you say you were infertile?" she replied, clipping a little sunflower barrette into the girl’s hair. "Everyone in the Sterling family says you have trouble conceiving, so why are you asking me?" He made it sound like he could magically have a baby the moment he wanted one, but Sophie refrained from openly snapping at him.

Julian raised an eyebrow and gave an ambiguous smile, but didn’t say anything more.

Sophie, however, felt that some things needed to be made crystal clear. She turned around to look at him. "Furthermore, I would never let my child grow up in a cold, loveless family."

Julian’s eyes were icy and clear as he stared at her for a long time. Finally, ignoring her comment about a "cold, loveless family," he lowered his gaze to the little girl standing between them. He raised his hand and slowly patted the child’s fluffy head before speaking in a measured tone.

"Explain to the public that Stella Sutton is your sister, and that there’s no such thing as her breaking us up."