Chapter 43 Have Another Child?

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Have Another Child?

Sophie Winslow stood expressionless in front of a stunned Seth Sutton. She looked down at the spoiled, lawless, and ill-bred brat. The slap she had just delivered landed squarely across the boy’s foul mouth.

Seth had clearly never been hit or scolded in his entire life, so it took him a long time to register what had happened. He stared wide-eyed at Sophie, his mouth stinging with pain. Then, glaring at her fiercely, his face scrunched up as he prepared to bawl.

Still expressionless, Sophie grabbed Seth’s arm and forcibly dragged the sturdy, heavy-set kid out of the hall.

Peter Preston reacted even faster. As Sophie handled Seth, he wheeled Quentin Winslow toward another door leading outside.

The moment Seth was dragged, he began to cry his lungs out.

Suddenly, Maeve Walsh darted out of nowhere, completely disrupting the scene. She lunged forward and shoved Sophie away. "Sophie Winslow, do you have no shame? Hitting a child?"

Isaiah Sutton also sprinted out right on cue. He stared at Sophie with profound disappointment. "You are totally out of line! He’s just a child. Why are you stooping to a child’s level?"

Sophie’s ears rang with Seth’s non-stop, screechy wailing, mixed with Isaiah and Maeve’s accusations. She looked at the family with cold mockery. "Oh, so the parents are here. I thought you were all dead, considering I had to discipline him for you."

When Seth was causing a ruckus in the hall and provoking Grandpa Quentin, Isaiah and Maeve were nowhere to be seen. But the moment Seth got put in his place, they instantly appeared. What perfect timing.

"A child speaks without a filter. What do you look like, taking it so seriously? How old is he, and how old are you?" Maeve glared coldly at Sophie, her eyes full of disdain.

Sophie’s expression frosted over. She enunciated every word clearly. "If you enable this fat, brainless brat to provoke us again, I won’t mind speaking without a filter myself. I’ll gladly let everyone know just how shameless Stella Sutton is, eagerly throwing herself into her brother-in-law’s bed!"

"Sophie Winslow, what nonsense are you spouting!" Isaiah’s face finally changed. His voice pitched higher, completely unable to maintain his mask of a loving father.

Sophie had no energy left to argue with them. They genuinely made her sick. Ignoring them, she turned around and walked away, her steps fast yet heavy.

It was hard for her not to blame Julian Sterling for keeping her in the dark. No matter how much he neglected her or how certain he was that she wouldn’t tear off their fig leaf, he shouldn’t have tacitly allowed Stella and the Suttons to flaunt themselves right next door on her grandfather’s birthday.

She didn’t let out a breath until she reached the entrance, facing the wind. Her chest felt like a pool of burning magma, and even her breathing trembled. But Grandpa Quentin was still waiting for her. Sophie had to quickly compose herself, making sure she looked perfectly normal before walking over to the car and getting in.

Peter glanced at her sideways, his lips pressing into a tight line, but he ultimately said nothing.

"Where are we going now?"

Sophie looked back at her grandfather, who was resting with his eyes closed. "Let’s go back to the nursing home," she said. "At least it’s quiet there."

Ever since her house had been snatched away by Stella, she hadn’t looked for a new one. As a result, she didn’t even have a good place to settle her grandfather. Taking him back to her apartment wouldn’t work either; her grandfather would find out she and Julian were separated. She didn’t want to upset the old man on such a good day.

Peter nodded. The nursing home had an excellent environment. Sophie had arranged the best suite for Quentin, complete with a private kitchen and bathroom, as well as the finest floor-to-ceiling view. It was perfectly suitable for their family to sit down and have a meal together. Fortunately, Quentin’s mind was mostly clouded these days, so today’s incident hadn’t affected him.

After escorting the two upstairs, Peter said, "I’ll go order some food. I’ll be right back."

Sophie looked at him gratefully.

Peter’s gaze softened slightly. He flicked her forehead lightly. "Alright, go back inside and wait for me like a good girl."

Sophie accompanied Quentin back into the suite-like hospital room. She was thankful Peter was there today. By working together, they had prevented Seth from angering her grandfather, and they had thwarted the Sutton family’s scheme to publicly broadcast the video of Julian and Stella acting all lovey-dovey.

Just as she poured a glass of water for Quentin, she heard a knock at the door. Confused, Sophie walked over. "You bought it that fast?"

But as she opened the door, Sophie’s expression instinctively froze. Even the last trace of a smile vanished from her face.

Julian slowly lowered his gaze, his dark, deep eyes locking onto her face. "Aren’t you going to invite me in?" His tone was even, lacking any major fluctuation.

Sophie had the urge to kick him out, but from the inner room came Quentin’s inquiring voice. "Sophie, who is it?"

Sophie’s grip on the doorknob tightened, then finally relaxed. She looked at Julian; he hadn’t come empty-handed. He was carrying several exquisite shopping bags. Giving her a brief glance, Julian brushed past her and walked inside.

"Grandpa, it’s me." After entering, Julian walked up to Quentin, a warm smile gracing his eyes.

Quentin’s eyes were clouded with confusion for a second, but after staring at him for a while, he remembered. "Julian? Are you not busy today?"

Walking back in, Sophie saw the joyous expression on her grandfather’s face and remained silent.

Julian curled his lips into a smile. "Your birthday is naturally a top priority to me. Work can be pushed back."

She cast a sidelong glance at Julian’s profile. This was one thing she had always admitted: if Julian Sterling wanted to make someone happy, no one could resist him.

"This is a dessert from your favorite shop, but with less sugar. Your health is the most important thing." Julian placed one of the boxes he had brought onto the table.

"Good, good. I’ll listen to you," Quentin nodded kindly, in high spirits.

"And there’s this. I heard you’ve been thinking about Grandmother’s artwork. I managed to collect a few pieces recently. Would you like to take a look?" Julian opened the other box.

Sophie looked over, momentarily surprised herself. Most of her grandmother’s calligraphy and paintings had been sold off to various antique shops back in the day. Even Sophie had found it incredibly difficult to track them down. Yet now, Julian had brought back no less than five paintings. It would be one thing if he were collecting works from renowned masters, but her grandmother hadn’t been that famous. Her scattered works were notoriously hard to retrieve.

It was as if a sudden breath of life had been injected into Quentin’s cloudy eyes. He stared blankly at his late wife’s paintings, trembling as he reached out to stroke the scrolls that bore the traces of her existence.

Sophie’s feelings, however, became complicated. She couldn’t understand if Julian was just putting on a superficial show out of politeness or what exactly his mindset was at this moment. They were about to get divorced. Why would he go to such lengths?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Julian glanced sideways, catching Sophie’s frowning gaze.

Meeting his eyes, Sophie said calmly, "I just think it must be exhausting for you."

On one hand, he poured his heart and soul into treating the Sutton family well. On the other hand, he wanted to secure a good reputation with her grandfather. She couldn’t help but praise him inwardly; Mr. Sterling was a true businessman—he wanted to have his cake and eat it too.

Julian gave her an indifferent look. "That doesn’t sound like a compliment."

Sophie was speechless. She couldn’t be bothered to respond. She figured that since Julian had managed to find them here, he most likely knew about her clash with the Suttons. Yet from start to finish, he hadn’t offered a single apology. As for her disciplining Seth, the Sutton family—and especially Stella—must have thrown a fit by now. Given how fiercely Julian protected Stella, wouldn’t he try to get back at Sophie on the Suttons’ behalf?

Because of this, Julian’s current display of kindness felt like a blade hovering over her neck.

However, Sophie suddenly remembered something, and her temples throbbed violently. She had been so blinded by anger from Seth and Isaiah that she had forgotten a crucial detail. She had forgotten to tell Ivy Hawthorne that they had returned to the nursing home. If Ivy went to their previous location, found no one there, asked Peter, and then brought Lydia straight to the nursing home...

A fierce chill ran down her spine. She immediately turned around to text Ivy.

Julian didn’t miss the shifts in Sophie’s expression over those fleeting seconds. She seemed to be afraid of something.

"Julian, Sophie, you two have been married for so many years now. When are you going to have another child?" Quentin’s voice abruptly cut through their respective thoughts.

"Another?" Julian looked at Quentin.