Chapter 56 Care as a Husband

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Care as a Husband

Sophie looked over.

Stella Sutton was flipping through a document, not even looking up. Her tone was completely natural, as if giving the order was her inherent right.

Sitting further inside, Renee Coleman quickly stood up. "I’ll do it."

Only then did Stella look up, offering Renee a gentle smile. "The ginger tea was closest to Sophie, and everyone else is busy discussing. I saw that Sophie was having trouble understanding our points, so I thought having her help out would give her a sense of participation."

Sophie frowned in confusion. She wondered, "Me? Having trouble understanding?" She had no idea how Stella had come to such a conclusion.

But when she turned her head, she realized that at some point, several individually packaged cups of hot sweet soup had been placed right behind her, perfectly within arm’s reach.

Everyone looked over at her.

Sophie, of course, knew that Stella was deliberately bossing her around. However, since she would be serving everyone present and not just Stella, refusing out of pride would only make her look like she was blowing things out of proportion.

Sometimes, she had to admit that Stella was genuinely skilled at manipulating social dynamics.

Peter Preston turned around and said, "Everyone, just help yourselves."

Sophie didn’t make a fuss. She stood up and said, "You guys continue the discussion. I could use a little stretch anyway."

She had already studied the targets being discussed in the meeting; they weren’t difficult for her to grasp. In her eyes, the top priority was simply advancing the project and speeding up its progress.

Renee and the others looked at Sophie with gratitude. "Thank you, Sophie."

Sophie returned their smiles. She then looked down at the array of drinks. Jujube ginger tea early in the morning? She had assumed it would be coffee to help everyone wake up. She wondered, "Could it be..."

Frowning slightly, Sophie cast a suspicious glance at Julian Sterling, who was looking down at the proposal.

The Kingsford University team took the ginger tea Sophie handed them, turning to look at Stella and Julian. "Thanks to you, Stella. But why jujube ginger tea?"

Stella offered a sweet smile. "I caught a chill and had a slight cold yesterday. Julian was worried I might drink something cold, so he didn’t order coffee. This tea is good for your health, so everyone should give it a try."

"Mr. Sterling is so considerate!" A chorus of envious sighs rippled through the room.

Sophie remained so calm that she didn’t feel the slightest bit surprised. It made sense, after all. Why would Julian ever remember her menstrual cycle? Even if she were to drop dead right here today, he would probably just tell her to find another place to sleep and stop blocking the way.

Holding the last two cups, she walked over to Stella and Julian and handed them over.

Unexpectedly, the lid on one of the cups hadn’t been sealed properly by the shop. It suddenly slipped. The cup of scalding ginger tea slammed onto the table, its contents spilling out and splashing directly toward her. The billowing steam was a clear indicator of its blistering heat.

Before Sophie could react—and before anyone else in the room even registered the sudden accident—a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her back with lightning speed. Sophie was pulled firmly behind Julian.

With his other hand, he caught the toppling cup, but a splash of the reddish tea splattered across the back of his hand.

The incident happened so abruptly that it took Sophie a moment to regain her composure. She hadn’t expected Julian to react so quickly. Everyone had been looking down at their documents and discussing the project, paying no attention to her side of the table. Had the scalding liquid hit her, it would have undoubtedly caused severe blisters.

"Julian! Are you okay?" Stella instantly stood up. As she rushed past Sophie, she bumped heavily into Sophie’s shoulder, shoving her slightly aside.

Stella was already clutching the hand that had been splashed with tea. Julian pulled his hand free, shook off the liquid, and grabbed a tissue to wipe it dry. Frowning slightly, he cast a fleeting glance at Sophie. "It’s nothing."

Stella then turned to Sophie. Her smile vanished, replaced by a glare full of condemnation. "No one blames you for failing to keep up with the meeting’s progress, but can’t you even handle a simple task like this? Can you bear the responsibility if someone gets hurt?"

Her scolding tone was utterly self-righteous, making her sound exactly like the legitimate wife.

Sophie’s patience finally ran out. "Why don’t you ask him what responsibility I should bear?" They weren’t even divorced yet. She’d love to see exactly how he expected her to make amends!

A flash of displeasure appeared in Stella’s eyes. She wondered if Sophie was flaunting the fact that she was still Mrs. Sterling. It was an incredibly ugly display of pride!

"No one wanted this to happen. Wasn’t it the shop’s fault for not sealing the lid properly? Sophie was doing us a favor; it wasn’t her job. Furthermore, Mr. Sterling was the one who stepped in to block it. There’s no need for you to fly into a rage, Miss Sutton," Peter said, his expression turning cold.

How dare a mistress try to throw her weight around in front of the actual wife?

Hearing this, Stella’s frown deepened. Peter’s words made it sound as though Julian deeply cared about Sophie! This realization made her intensely uncomfortable, and naturally, displeased.

Someone from the Kingsford University team finally realized the tension and offered a comforting explanation. "It makes sense. From that angle, Stella could have easily been splashed too. Mr. Sterling was probably worried that she might get burned."

Only then did Sophie glance at where she had been standing. It was true. From that trajectory, Stella was directly in the line of fire. Rather than saying he was saving her, it was more accurate to say he was preventing Stella from getting burned as collateral damage.

"Well, in that case, Mr. Sterling pulling Miss Winslow toward Stella’s side almost makes it look like he was using Miss Winslow as a human shield to block the splashing water for Stella..." A murmured realization drifted through the room.

The comment was like a sharp needle, instantly piercing through the superficial illusion of decency.

Stella’s expression immediately softened. Sitting next to Julian, she gazed affectionately at his stunningly handsome profile with a mixture of helplessness and sweet devotion. "Julian, you were just overly worried because you care. I’m completely fine."

Julian finished wiping the liquid from his sharply defined hand. He curled his lips into a faint smile and looked at her. "As long as you’re okay."

Sophie turned away. She decided there was no reason for her to stand there and watch their sickeningly sweet display of affection. Without offering a word of apology or thanks, she sat back down in her seat and stared at the cup of jujube ginger tea placed in front of her. Throughout the two-hour discussion, she didn’t touch it once.

After all, this was her husband’s loving gesture meant for another woman. She hadn’t earned it, and she certainly wouldn’t accept it.

Once the meeting concluded, Sophie just wanted to go back and rest. She said goodbye to Peter and left first. She didn’t bother rushing over to show concern for Julian’s burn. He had gotten hurt for Stella, after all. There was no point in flattering herself by pretending it had anything to do with her.

As soon as she got upstairs, she collapsed onto the bed. Thank goodness Caldwell didn’t know how severe her menstrual cramps were, otherwise he would have definitely forced her to drink traditional Chinese medicine for a while. She absolutely despised the taste of it.

She bundled herself under the covers and slept until late in the afternoon. When she finally woke up, her stomach was growling with hunger, and the room had already grown dim.

In the nearly two-thousand-square-foot suite, she was completely alone in absolute silence. An overwhelming wave of loneliness washed over her, flooding her mind for quite some time. Julian had never come to check on her. He was probably busy keeping Stella company.

Shortly after, she noticed a missed call from Madam Sterling. Sophie gathered her energy and called her back.

"Sophie, let’s have New Year’s Eve dinner together at eight. Julian said he would fetch you. You two have been together all day today, right?"

Sophie looked around the empty room, choosing not to expose Julian’s lie. "Yes, he told me."

"Good. Freshen up and come downstairs. Your mother-in-law, your second aunt, and the rest of the family are all here."

Sophie knew the old lady was subtly reminding her not to let slip any mention of their impending divorce. She washed up quickly and left the bedroom.

As soon as she stepped out, she saw Julian standing right there in the living room.

Sophie was slightly taken aback; she had assumed he wasn’t there. Julian was standing at the kitchen island, pouring a glass of water. He was still wearing his coat, and Sophie could tell at a glance that he had likely just walked in after finishing his romantic rendezvous.

"Grandma wants me to bring you down for dinner." Julian set his glass down, pulled back his cuff to check his watch, and then fixed his deep, striking dark eyes on her face. "Are you feeling unwell?"

It was as if he had only just noticed her condition, asking the question with complete nonchalance.

Sophie was tempted to say, "If you don’t care, there’s no need to put on an act," because he seemed so insincere. After all, she had witnessed firsthand the great lengths he went to in order to care for Stella over a minor chill. The solicitous questions, the jujube ginger tea—he had backed up his concern with actual effort. But when it came to her, apparently even paying lip service was too much of a burden.

"Oh, just menstrual cramps," she replied casually as she walked over to change her shoes, putting just as little effort into her answer.

Julian walked around the island toward her. "Aren’t you a doctor? Can’t you cure it?"

Sophie rolled her eyes internally. "Doctors also say having a baby cures it, but we haven’t..." Her voice abruptly trailed off.

In the confined space of the entryway, only the faint sound of their breathing remained. Sophie’s scalp prickled with tension, and her immediate reaction was to explain herself. When she looked up, the overhead light flickered. Julian’s jawline was sharp and tense. With his head slightly bowed, his unfathomable dark eyes glared down at her. After a long moment, he let out a short, soft chuckle that somehow felt razor-sharp.

"There’s no need to drop hints. There are thousands of ways to treat an illness. As for having a baby, don’t bring it up again."

"..." The words caught in Sophie’s throat. Her heart, which had been tense with the fear that he might misunderstand her comment as a hint for a child, was entirely crushed and plunged into icy despair by his flat refusal.

Julian turned and walked toward the door, resting his hand on the doorknob.

Sophie’s eyes were instantly drawn to the back of the hand he had burned earlier that day. Medication had clearly been applied to it, and it was now covered by a medical dressing.

And right there, on the pristine white dressing—

Was a distinct lipstick mark.