Chapter 236 Declaration of War

Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Declaration of War

Sophie Winslow found out about the Hawthorne family sending out invitations the next day.

Peter Preston had received one as well. He came to her with a meaningful look. "Mr. Hawthorne sure works fast. With these invitations out, what do you think the outside world is thinking right now?"

There was no such thing as kindness without reason in this world. Adrian Hawthorne was personally handling Sophie’s affairs with so much dedication, so speculation would inevitably run wild. Rumors of a broken marriage with Julian Sterling and wealthy family drama had likely already spawned numerous versions.

Fortunately, Sophie didn’t care about any of that. It wasn’t as if a few rumors could actually hurt her.

Besides, using this method to frustrate Madam Sterling felt like a pretty good deal to her. It was also her "repayment" for the incident involving Tristan Thorne. In fact, she knew very well that Madam Sterling wasn’t entirely ignorant of Tristan’s character. That made the whole situation even more vile; she could clearly see the rock-bottom malice of human nature at play.

She knew the old woman was an extremist. Madam Sterling either wanted her to swallow her grievances and endure the marriage, or, if she chose to leave, to ensure she wouldn’t have an easy time of it. If Tristan had succeeded, Sophie would have become a mere stepping stone for the Sterling family to build a relationship with the Thorne family, while simultaneously destroying any possibility of her ever returning to the Sterlings.

There had been so many media reporters that day. Madam Sterling hadn’t spared a single thought about how Sophie would survive in the world if the situation blew up and Tristan had gotten his way.

Her refusal to associate with the Sterling family this time was letting them off easy.

That morning, Peter rushed over again. "Stella Sutton got reassigned. She didn’t make it into my dad’s program, but she was placed under his junior, Professor Young."

Sophie’s brow twitched. For a reassignment to happen so quickly... Julian’s face almost instantly flashed through her mind.

"Once you take your position, you’ll be doing research with my dad and his students. Julian has practically sent Stella right back in," Peter said, almost tempted to applaud. Just how much did Julian love this girl?

"If Stella actually got rejected outright, it would indeed be a loss of face for him," Sophie replied, unable to even muster the energy to care.

"Even after all this, he still forced her in, knowing full well you’d be there. Isn’t he just deliberately trying to disgust you?" Peter said. He just didn’t want Sophie to have any peace of mind, did he? The mistress was sticking to her like a leech.

Sophie’s temples throbbed slightly. She opened a drawer, unwrapped a piece of candy, and popped it into her mouth. "That’s his business. He’s not a decent ex, so I didn’t expect him to stay as quiet as the dead anyway."

She didn’t want to waste a single ounce of energy on Julian.

The grand opening of Hawthorne Roselake began tomorrow. She was much more interested in figuring out where to buy a nice house after relocating Lydia’s resting place.

The next day, Sophie got up early to get ready. Today, her celebration banquet and the Hawthorne family’s grand opening ceremony were taking place simultaneously. With the government involved in this Hawthorne project, quite a few officials would be in attendance. They had widely invited people from their circles to come and experience it. Coupled with the draw of her celebration banquet, the guest list had doubled.

Once she was ready, a WhatsApp message from Adrian arrived.

[I’ve landed. See you at Roselake.]

Sophie replied with an "Okay," grabbed her car keys, and headed out the door.

Starting today, she might offend the Sterling family, but she didn’t care anymore. With her divorce certificate in hand, she had nothing left to fear.

At Roselake.

When Evan York arrived, he looked around. The Hawthorne family was enjoying immense prestige today. Many people were indeed there just to catch a glimpse of the twenty-seven-year-old Kingsford University professor.

However... he had genuinely received a personal invitation from Adrian. Arriving alongside him was Finn Lockwood.

Finn, feeling utterly displeased, gripped his invitation and frowned. "Is Mr. Hawthorne doing this on purpose? He knows our relationship with Sophie, yet he specifically sent us invitations? Julian received one too. What is Adrian trying to do?"

Declare war?

Evan naturally wasn’t in a much better mood. His "former brother-in-law" was completely infatuated with another woman and made no effort to avoid him, even purposely inviting him to witness it firsthand. There was no way to claim that a man like Adrian was doing this unintentionally.

But Evan also knew the truth. He could no longer direct his anger at Sophie. On the contrary, if Sophie needed anything, he would lend her a hand.

"Is Sophie really that capable to have Adrian so completely infatuated?" Finn, recalling how Sophie had refused to give him face and meet his grandfather, became increasingly unrestrained with his words.

Evan dropped a bit of his casual demeanor and cast a cold glance at him. "Sophie doesn’t owe you anything. There’s no need to be so prejudiced against her."

Finn looked astonished. "Didn’t I tell you? Sophie tried to steal the credit for Stella saving my grandpa’s life. She wanted to con the Lockwood family out of a favor. Doesn’t that show a problem with her character?"

Evan pulled out a cigarette. "She didn’t gain anything, and you didn’t lose anything. Isn’t your hostility toward her mostly just for Stella’s sake?"

Finn was left speechless. Just as he was about to say something, another car pulled up. Julian and Stella stepped out of the vehicle.

His attention diverted, Finn immediately went over. "Julian, you actually came?"

Adrian was clearly doing this on purpose!

Julian’s expression remained calm. "I received two invitations. The other one is for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Roselake’s grand opening."

Stella instantly understood Julian’s meaning. He was here for the resort’s grand opening, not for Sophie. On one level, it showed he didn’t care who Sophie was relying on; on another level, it demonstrated absolute ruthlessness to separate his personal and professional life so clearly.

Finn understood as well. They entered the hall together, stepping into a bustling room filled with people mingling and exchanging toasts.

Suddenly, a well-maintained noble lady with an excellent figure approached them, holding a wine glass. She greeted Julian with a smile. "Mr. Sterling, excuse my failure to welcome you properly."

Evan recognized her. It was Adrian’s mother, Simone Garrison. She was famously known in their circles as a "smiling tiger"—someone with top-tier abilities who would eat you alive without leaving a single bone.

Julian nodded. "Ms. Garrison."

Simone’s smile was flawless in this arena of vanity and wealth. She spoke with a profound tone, "Mr. Sterling, our two families will still have long-term dealings in the future. I hope that no matter how things develop, you won’t harbor any hard feelings."

Evan paused imperceptibly. These words... It seemed Simone genuinely approved of Sophie. This was a blatant warning, proving that Simone knew about the past relationship between Sophie and Julian.

Julian’s dark eyes revealed no emotion as he met Simone’s smiling gaze. After a long moment, he replied slowly, "Not at all."

His answer was ambiguous. It sounded as though everything was negotiable, yet he hadn’t given a definitive stance.

Simone smiled. "That’s good to hear."

With that said, she caught sight of Stella, who was sticking closely to Julian’s side, out of the corner of her eye. She looked at the girl with a gentle and generous smile. Then, she nodded in acknowledgment to Finn and Evan. She looked incredibly amiable and easy to get along with, but she completely bypassed Stella.

Stella’s expression stiffened imperceptibly. Did Ms. Garrison not see her?

The next second, a commotion arose at the entrance. Julian’s fingers paused slightly as they rubbed his wine glass. He looked over.

At the doorway, two figures arrived together. Sophie and Adrian walked in side by side. They were discussing something, and Adrian had leaned in slightly, lowering his head to speak to her. Sophie smiled in response, then gently linked her arm through Adrian’s.

Finn suddenly blurted out, "What is Sophie doing? Is that even appropriate?!"