Chapter 221 I Can Give You the Divorce Certificate

Sophie Winslow could clearly see Stella Sutton’s blatant confidence—the kind of fearlessness that only came from being favored.

Stella obviously didn’t give Sophie a chance to lash out. She walked right past her and left, running toward the man who was waiting patiently for her outside.

Sophie stood rooted to the spot for a long time. It wasn’t until Peter Preston called that she finally collected her emotions and went downstairs.

They couldn’t interfere with the Acuity matter, and they had absolutely no way of stopping Stella from becoming their upstream client.

By the time Sophie stepped outside, Julian Sterling and Stella were nowhere to be seen. Sometimes, she truly wanted to cut Julian’s heart open just to see why he always managed to stab her right where it hurt the most.

Peter was clearly deeply troubled by this as well. He asked Sophie, “Shall I take you home first?”

Immersed in her own thoughts, Sophie was just about to respond when her phone rang. Distracted, she answered directly without checking the caller ID.

“Sophie, when are you coming home?” Madam Sterling’s voice rang out, her tone unreadable.

Sophie snapped back to her senses and checked the number. It was the landline of the marital home she shared with Julian. Madam Sterling had gone over there.

She pursed her lips. “I just got off work.”

“Good. Come back early then. Grandma will wait for you.”

Madam Sterling’s sudden visit made Sophie feel a bit irritable. Today’s events were already enough to send her mood plummeting to rock bottom, yet she still had to deal with this.

In truth, neither she nor Julian felt obligated to return to the marital home lately. They treated it as an optional stop, and neither of them took Madam Sterling’s demand that they “must leave a child behind” to heart. But since the old lady had already gone over for a surprise inspection, Sophie knew she had no choice but to go humor her.

After ending the call, Sophie parted ways with Peter.

He was still somewhat worried. “That old lady isn’t easy to deal with. If there’s any problem, contact me anytime.” Sophie was young, after all, and he couldn’t help but worry she’d be bullied.

Sophie simply nodded.

When she returned to the marital home, Sophie was surprised to find that Julian had also returned. He and Madam Sterling were sitting in the living room, locked in a silent standoff. Clearly, only Madam Sterling was displeased. Julian, on the other hand, was the picture of calm, leaning back lazily as he casually scrolled through an iPad, turning a completely deaf ear to his grandmother’s agitation.

Sophie cast a complicated glance at Julian. The Acuity incident today had indeed dealt her a considerable blow. Now, whenever they saw each other, the air between them was entirely saturated with tension and unresolved conflict.

“Sophie, is work really that busy?” As soon as Madam Sterling saw her, she immediately spoke up in disapproval. “If you two are both so busy, how can you take care of your little home and the family’s baby plans?”

Sophie walked over. “Yeah, there’s a lot going on right now. Lots of overtime.” She used it as an excuse for why she hadn’t been coming back.

But Madam Sterling slapped the table. “This is outrageous!

“It’s unavoidable for Julian since he manages such a large company, but you shouldn’t be like this, Sophie. You don’t need to work so hard. What’s wrong with just resting at home? Your priority should be the Sterling Family. When you get pregnant, you’ll have to take maternity leave anyway, so you might as well just quit right now.”

Sophie felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to laugh, and she actually let out a chuckle. “Grandma, he and I have already gotten our divorce certificate. Are you saying I still have to quit my job for him?”

Why must the woman always be the one to selflessly sacrifice and burn herself out? Even if her career wasn’t as prestigious as Julian’s, on what grounds could they demand she give it up?

Madam Sterling sensed the sudden sharpness in Sophie’s tone. She hesitated for a moment, then frowned. “But you still have to follow through on what you promised. Do I need to remind you?”

Sophie knew the old lady was holding the threat of revoking their divorce certificate over her head again. The infuriating part was that, in her initial haste, she and Julian had gone through a special channel. As a result, their divorce details couldn’t be formally logged in the standard system until a mandatory cooling-off period had passed. Before that period expired, the divorce could be revoked at any time. The entire ordeal gave her a massive headache.

“I—”

“Are you planning to watch us have sex?” Julian, who hadn’t even lifted his head, spoke up in a flat tone.

Madam Sterling’s expression twisted into a bizarre grimace at such crude, unfiltered words. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”

He turned off the tablet in his hands, his dark, profound eyes completely devoid of emotion. “Then why worry yourself over it? Sophie and I have no plans in that regard right now.”

Sophie didn’t interject, though she gave a noncommittal twitch of her lips. Julian would only make his stance clear when it involved this specific subject—all to protect his harmonious relationship with Stella.

Before Madam Sterling could lash out, Julian looked at her seriously, his tone steady. “Perhaps you should accept our arrangements and decisions, rather than trying to force our hands.”

Having been domineering her entire life, Madam Sterling’s face instantly turned ugly upon being so bluntly lectured by her own grandson. Her usual facade of amiable grace completely crumbled. She stood up in a fit of anger. “Why can’t you two just live a good life together?!”

Julian leaned back slightly, casting a careless side-glance at Sophie. “Yeah. Why can’t we?”

For no apparent reason, Sophie’s spine went rigid. By the time she looked over, Julian was already standing up. His towering height alone exuded immense pressure. “It’s time for you to head back.”

Clearly, this attempt at coercion had ended in total failure. Madam Sterling was absolutely furious.

Julian appeared calm and unflappable, as if he were open to negotiation on many things, but in reality, no one could ever sway him. This was practically the first time he had openly laid his cards on the table with Madam Sterling. He didn’t want to have a child with Sophie; he didn’t want any lifelong ties chaining him to her. Watching from the perspective of a bystander, Sophie saw the truth of it with crystal clarity.

Madam Sterling left in a huff. Sophie, however, breathed a sigh of relief.

Julian went upstairs to change clothes. When he came back down, Sophie wanted to talk to him about the Acuity situation. But just as he walked past her, his phone rang. Sophie didn’t check who was calling, though it wasn’t hard to guess. The words that had reached the tip of her tongue instantly dissolved into nothingness.

“Did you have something to say?” Julian asked casually, glancing at his screen.

“No,” Sophie replied flatly.

Julian stared at her quietly for a few seconds. “Suit yourself.”

He strode out the door, leaving shortly after Madam Sterling. Sophie was far too physically and mentally exhausted to bother packing up and leaving again.

Truth be told, Sophie could easily guess the real reason behind Julian’s unyielding attitude today. Charles Sterling was getting out soon, which naturally made Stella anxious. Julian wanted to settle things quickly, which was why he had so blatantly refused his grandmother’s demands—all to prevent any unexpected complications that might threaten his relationship with Stella. If Sophie ended up “pregnant” before Charles was released from prison, Madam Sterling obviously wouldn’t let Julian and Stella be together so easily.

Sophie went upstairs to rest. The luggage she had brought over was still sitting in the walk-in closet, completely unpacked. She would be moving out again sooner or later anyway. She took one look at the bags and went to take a shower.

The next day was the weekend. Plagued by anxiety over the Acuity situation, Sophie hadn’t slept well. She had originally planned to visit Caldwell’s place to keep Lydia company, but Madam Sterling called her again.

Sophie toyed with the idea of ignoring it, but logic quickly took over. The moment she answered, she heard a sentence that made her blood race: “I can give you the divorce certificate.”