Chapter 80 Hugging in Public to Announce Their Marriage?

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Hugging in Public to Announce Their Marriage?

Sophie Winslow knew Peter Preston’s concerns were not without reason.

She could still recall the look in Julian Sterling’s eyes just now. He wasn’t the type to be emotionally unstable or easily angered, but it was exactly that impassive calm that made his deep gaze so terrifying.

"But if I didn’t strike back today, it would be much harder later on. He wouldn’t give me another chance to settle the score."

Anyway, there was no dignity left between her and Julian anymore. One more grudge wouldn’t make a difference.

"Regardless, I need to take precautions. The sooner the project with Kingsford University wraps up, the less chance they’ll have to act out," Sophie said, taking a rather pragmatic view of things.

Julian didn’t love her, so naturally, he wouldn’t care about any past affections. She really needed to think things through thoroughly.

To keep Lydia from noticing her injury, Sophie wore a waist brace under her clothes. She accompanied the little girl as she bathed, brushed her teeth, and did her skincare routine, before finally coaxing her to sleep.

Looking at the little hands clinging tightly to her arm, Sophie felt a deep pang of reluctance to leave. But she had to grow stronger as quickly as possible so she could have the ability to shelter Lydia from the storms ahead.

After showering Lydia’s fair, tender cheeks with kisses, she finally tiptoed out of the room.

The joint research and development between Helios and Kingsford University had entered its final stages. Once the animal and clinical trials were passed, they could apply for approval. Only when the project’s drug was officially credited to their names would everything be set in stone.

Ivy Hawthorne had also sent over the schedule for the documentary shoot.

Sophie’s waist hadn’t fully healed yet. She had to wear the brace; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to stand or walk for extended periods. Today’s task was to conduct animal experiments at Longview Labs. It was also the first official day of filming.

Upon arriving at the elevators in the Longview lobby, Sophie immediately spotted Stella Sutton, surrounded by a crowd like the moon among the stars. Her gaze casually swept downward, landing on the watch gracing Stella’s wrist. It was exactly the women’s piece from the couple’s set Julian had bought—the very one Finn Lockwood had posted a picture of earlier...

Sophie’s eyes lingered for a fraction of a second before calmly looking away.

Jennings, the man who had received her at Longview last time, and Mr. Young, an executive at the company, were walking alongside Stella, their faces wreathed in smiles as they chatted. Basking in the attention, Stella was in a remarkably good mood. The swelling from where Sophie had slapped her face had gone down, leaving no visible trace of the incident.

When Stella noticed Sophie standing by the elevators, a cold glint flashed in her eyes. Without any hesitation, she walked straight over.

Just then, the elevator doors slid open. Jennings saw Sophie and offered a cheerful greeting. Mr. Young, however, addressed Sophie with only a semblance of politeness, "Miss, please step aside and let Miss Sutton on first."

Sophie glanced at him. "Am I in her way?"

Mr. Young was momentarily stumped. He had only been putting on a show of attentiveness to curry favor with Stella. He had no choice but to reply, "You might not know this, Miss, but she is Mr. Sterling’s girlfriend. If you get along well with Miss Sutton, it’ll certainly benefit you."

Only then did Stella’s lips curve into a smirk. After all, Longview was owned by Julian. Having a high-ranking Longview executive revere her and tell Sophie to do the same was essentially a slap to Sophie’s face. Naturally, she felt a surge of satisfaction. The lingering resentment from being struck by Sophie finally eased a little.

Sophie’s lips twitched slightly. She had been the legitimate Mrs. Sterling for seven years, and now she was supposed to ride Stella’s coattails?

However, there were too many people waiting to get on the elevator. It was clearly inappropriate to stand there and argue. The crowd swarmed inside, but a comfortably spacious area was deliberately left empty around Stella alone. Being the apple of Julian’s eye naturally entitled her to every special privilege.

Upon arriving at the Longview Experimental Zone, Ivy’s crew had already set up their camera angles. The Kingsford University team was also present, and seeing Stella approach, they immediately clustered around her.

They chattered eagerly, addressing her affectionately as their senior. Every now and then, the name "Mr. Sterling" would be tossed into the mix. Stella maintained a gentle smile, conversing joyfully with everyone.

Sophie couldn’t be bothered with them. She didn’t see Ivy around; she was most likely in the control room keeping an eye on the monitors.

Instead, Ivy’s assistant came over and announced, "Everyone, there’s no need to be nervous. Just act exactly as you normally would. We won’t film any confidential data, and our production crew won’t interfere with your work. Just stick to your own pace."

Stella offered a light smile. "Don’t worry, I’m experienced with this."

Sophie paid her no mind. She briskly went to sterilize herself, changed into a cleanroom suit, put on a mask, and headed straight to test the purity of the raw materials for Kingsford University’s Western medicine.

There was a lot of work to be done today. Purification, toxicity testing, experiment after experiment... Sophie was so busy that she forgot they were even being filmed.

For over five solid hours, nobody even had time to eat lunch. She nearly lost her footing several times. Her waist was still bothering her, forcing her to surreptitiously lean against the lab bench every so often to take the weight off and rest.

Renee Coleman walked over. "Sophie, are you experiencing low blood sugar?"

Sophie was just about to shake her head when a voice rang out from the doorway. "Everyone, work is important, but so is your health! Mr. Sterling knows you’ve all been working hard today, so he specially prepared sliced fruit and lunch for you."

A chorus of gratitude immediately erupted.

"We’d never get this kind of treatment normally! It’s all because our senior is here. Mr. Sterling isn’t caring about us; his heart aches for her."

"Individual meals from The Imperial Scent! Oh my god, they’re so expensive and hard to book! One portion costs three days of my salary. Mr. Sterling is so generous."

Stella chuckled softly, looking a bit shy. "Julian is just paying extra attention to this because I suffered from low blood sugar the last time I stayed up late working overtime. Everyone, hurry and take a break to eat. There’s no need to thank me."

Renee couldn’t help but look at Sophie. "Sophie, why don’t you go eat something?"

Sophie wasn’t actually hungry. Watching Stella distribute the food over there, she pulled her mask back up. "I’m fine. You go ahead and eat. Have an extra portion or two and make Mr. Sterling bleed a little cash."

Renee was still a bit worried about her, but Sophie was more focused on wanting to sit down and stretch out her throbbing waist.

No sooner had she settled into her seat than she heard the group surrounding Stella say with eyes full of envy, "Senior, is Mr. Sterling going to appear in the documentary too? If he does, the audience will definitely be able to tell that you two are dating."

At this, Stella pursed her lips into a smile. "If he’s not too busy, perhaps he’ll come."

She still remembered what Finn Lockwood had said: if Julian appeared on camera with her and she showed even the slightest hint of intimacy with him, everyone would be able to guess their private relationship. After all, aside from meals and breaks, the documentary crew was rolling constantly.

"Mr. Sterling treats you so well! He’s attentive to everything and is even willing to make it official on the show. I’m dying of jealousy."

"Senior, with Mr. Sterling treating you this well, are you two getting married soon?"

Sophie didn’t even bat an eyelid. Her brain was rapidly calculating the formulation data to figure out where the issue lay; Stella’s side was experiencing continuous delays in blending the compounds.

Catching a glimpse of Sophie from the corner of her eye, Stella finally smiled and replied, "If there’s good news, I’ll let everyone know."

A ripple of knowing laughter spread through the group.

That answer actually made Sophie pause in thought. Did they already... have a plan? Were they going to get married the second the divorce certificate was issued?

BUZZ. Her WhatsApp vibrated.

Ivy Hawthorne: [She just shot you such a smug look. I saw it clear as day on the main monitors backstage. What a basic bitch!]

Ivy Hawthorne: [Getting married? She’s got a massive tumor in her brain! I’m so pissed!]

Ivy Hawthorne: [I’m so curious to see the looks on those Kingsford University people’s faces when they find out Stella is the mistress and you’re the real Mrs. Sterling.]

Ivy was still cursing. Messages flew rapidly across the screen, each sentence riddled with high-frequency expletives.

Sophie hadn’t expected Ivy to be able to see even that. There really were a ton of cameras set up. Happy to join the pile-on, she quietly replied: [Exactly.]

Having placated Ivy’s fury, Sophie massaged her lower back. Clearly, Julian’s second marriage was no longer any of her business. Once she felt sufficiently rested, she stood up, changed her gloves, put her mask back on, and headed to the equipment to analyze the pharmacology.

The silent filming resumed as Sophie moved between the different labs.

After a full day of high-intensity work, her already severe waist injury acted up. As she walked into one of the labs, a sudden, intense stab of pain shot through the bones of her lower back. Unable to support her own weight, she scrambled wildly to grab onto something to maintain her balance.

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her firmly but gently into an embrace.

Another hand came up to rest on her back. The arm around her waist tightened, forcing her to press her entire body weight onto him. She found herself locked tight in a face-to-face embrace, utterly sealed off from the outside world.

Sophie looked up, her reflection immediately captured in a pair of dark, mesmerizing eyes framed by thick lashes.

She froze. Before she could even knit her brows in a frown, over a dozen pairs of eyes in the lab swiveled toward them in unison. The onlookers’ gazes were filled with astonishment, bewilderment, and outright shock. They also couldn’t help but dart glances at Stella’s expression not far away.

Finally, someone couldn’t hold back their disbelief and blurted out, "Mr. Sterling... why are you holding Sophie?"