Chapter 35 You Are the Trash That Ruined Sophie Winslow’s Family

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: You Are the Trash That Ruined Sophie Winslow’s Family

Sophie was amazed by this little old man’s train of thought.

"The Sterling Family forbade me from exposing their true relationship. There are too many people in the company, so please mind your words," she said hurriedly.

The little old man scoffed. "What true relationship? They’re just illicit lovers."

Sophie leaned closer and echoed, "If this were in the past..."

"...They’d be tarred and feathered!" Hector Caldwell slammed his hand on the table.

Peter Preston was speechless. Neither the mentor nor his apprentice had a shred of maturity.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

The door was pushed open. Julian Sterling raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping past Sophie Winslow without lingering.

Seeing Sophie in the reception room, Stella Sutton frowned subconsciously. Then, she raised her hand to link arms with Julian. Ignoring Sophie entirely, she greeted Hector with a faint smile. "Mr. Caldwell, hello. I am Stella Sutton. It is an honor to finally meet you."

Hector raised his cup to take a sip of tea and shot a glance at Julian. "Mr. Sterling, it’s been a while." He completely ignored Stella.

Stella’s expression stiffened for a moment.

Julian’s eyes were calm. He smiled faintly and nodded. "The last time was three years ago when my grandfather was gravely ill. You came out of retirement to save his life. My grandfather often brings you up; he is immensely grateful."

At the mention of this, Hector couldn’t help but glance at Sophie. He had been vacationing abroad at the time. If Sophie hadn’t begged him, he never would have gone to see Chairman Sterling. Yet, Sophie refused to take any credit. She hadn’t breathed a word to the Sterling Family about being the one who invited him.

At the end of the day, the Sterling Family owed Sophie a massive favor! They didn’t even realize they had benefited from her grace!

Sophie read the little old man’s gaze. He was silently telling her to look at this family she had wrongly devoted herself to. She didn’t dare make a sound.

"There was such a thing? To think Mr. Caldwell has such deep ties with the Sterling Family," Stella said in surprise.

Hector glanced at Stella, then looked at Julian. "I recall the old master mentioning that Mr. Sterling is married. So, who is this?"

That was a truly sharp question. Sophie remained silent.

Stella wondered why he would ask such a question. Since he knew Julian was married and saw her walking in arm-in-arm with him, did he really have to confirm her identity? Especially in front of Sophie. If this matter were brought out into the open, she felt Sophie would treat it as a joke.

Although she couldn’t understand why Peter Preston had actually recruited Sophie into Helios, Sophie’s status was lowly and her words carried no weight. She looked at Peter. "Mr. Preston, could you please send irrelevant personnel out? I have important matters to discuss."

Peter, who had been enjoying the show, raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

Stella glanced at Sophie. "Your employee, Mr. Preston. She’s quite tactless." Was this an occasion Sophie could just join in on? How dare she just stand there and refuse to leave?

Sophie pointed at herself. Did she mean her? Should she leave?

"Mr. Sterling, you must really spoil Miss Sutton on a daily basis. She’s actually trying to boss people around in my company," Peter said, his lips curling. How could he not see that Julian’s unconditional indulgence had fostered Stella’s arrogant and entitled attitude? She didn’t even bother to hide her utter contempt when facing Julian’s lawful wife.

Julian understood the implication of his words. He slowly looked toward Hector. "Mr. Caldwell, she studied medicine and previously worked in chronic disease drug development in Meridia. She came today hoping to further perfect her skills. Could I ask you to evaluate her?"

Stella’s lips curled up. It was actually good that Sophie was present. Once Sophie saw the gap between them, she would naturally feel ashamed of her own inadequacy. She took a step forward and said earnestly, "I was originally inspired by you to study medicine. I came today because I sincerely wish to become your apprentice."

Sophie looked over in surprise.

Even Peter found it amusing. Was she offering her own head on a silver platter?

Hector had watched the drama unfold for a good while. He stroked his white beard. "Sure."

A look of joy appeared on Stella’s face.

Hector shot her a sidelong glance. "Taking on an apprentice is a major event for me, and I have rules. Talent is one aspect, but on the other hand, I will conduct a detailed background check. Your family relations, social connections, past experiences, and moral character will all be scrutinized. When the time comes, I will publicly announce these details about my apprentice on social platforms. Can you handle that?"

"What?" The joy faded from Stella’s face, and she pressed her lips together tightly. She hadn’t expected it to be this strict. Wouldn’t that mean...

"Not willing?" Hector immediately looked at the silent Sophie and asked, despite already knowing the answer, "I think this young lady is quite good. Why don’t you learn from me? Are you married? Would it be convenient to make your husband public?"

Seeing her own mentor’s wicked sense of humor, Sophie was left speechless.

The atmosphere suddenly became bizarre. Stella’s face looked awful.

Peter immediately chimed in. "Sophie seems to be married. Are you going to help Sophie announce it officially?"

Sophie watched the two of them echo each other. They were playing dumb to deliberately embarrass Stella and Julian.

Stella’s expression had already darkened. She assumed Mr. Caldwell was merely joking about wanting to take Sophie as an apprentice. However, she also worried that Sophie would outright admit Julian was her husband, which would cause Mr. Caldwell to harbor prejudices against her. She could only look at Julian, who had remained calm and unhurried by her side.

Julian’s gaze swept across Sophie’s face. When facing Hector, he lacked his usual arrogance. Instead, he stated quite humbly, "Mr. Caldwell, you may name any condition you wish."

Sophie looked at his noble face. She dug her fingers into her palms, but she couldn’t feel the pain. To elevate Stella, he truly spared no effort and racked his brains.

Hector saw right through it as well. A surge of anger rose within him. He stood up with a cold expression. "Fine! Then have this two-faced homewrecker publicly apologize to Sophie! Once she admits she’s nothing but the trash that ruined someone else’s family, I’ll consider it!"

Stella’s face drastically changed. She hadn’t expected Mr. Caldwell to actually know about their relationship.

And... trash?

She refused to believe Mr. Caldwell had come up with that word himself. If Sophie hadn’t been gossiping behind her back and using such terms, why would Mr. Caldwell deny her face like this? She immediately glared at Sophie with mocking and furious eyes.

So that was how it was. Sophie had just joined Helios, and she was lucky enough to leverage Peter’s connection with Mr. Caldwell to meet a prominent figure like him. Yet, she actually dared to preemptively spread rumors and stir up trouble in front of Mr. Caldwell and Peter? She racked her brains to badmouth her like this just to ruin her reputation!