Chapter 81 Apologize to Miss Sutton for Touching Her Man!

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Apologize to Miss Sutton for Touching Her Man!

Startled voices shattered the silence in the room.

Sophie Winslow hadn’t expected things to turn out like this, either. Seth Sutton had shoved her quite hard a few days ago, and she had been pushing through the pain all day. Even if Julian Sterling hadn’t caught her, she could have regained her balance and kept herself from falling.

But now...

She lowered her eyes, a flash of irritation crossing them. Pushing him away with one hand, she said politely, "Thank you."

Only then did Julian slowly look down at her, his expression unchanging. "Where does it hurt?" he pressed.

Although his tone was casual, Sophie frowned. The onlookers grew even more bewildered and suspicious. In their eyes, Mr. Sterling didn’t seem like the type to care about an ordinary researcher.

Stella Sutton’s grip on her glass beaker tightened, her cold, condemning eyes fixed on Sophie. "The laboratory is a place for data and research results. I expect you to respect this space and the many researchers present."

She changed the subject, avoiding a direct accusation that Sophie was seducing Julian. Instead, she framed her words as a defense of their colleagues who had been working hard all day.

Instantly, the gazes directed at Sophie changed in nature.

A researcher from Kingsford University stepped up beside Stella, frowning reproachfully at Sophie. "Exactly. Besides... you know perfectly well who Mr. Sterling is. Shouldn’t you know how to keep your distance?"

After all, the cameras were rolling. Without Julian’s explicit permission, they didn’t dare openly state that Mr. Sterling and Stella Sutton were the actual couple.

"What do we do now? That scene was definitely caught on camera."

At those words, Stella’s already displeased expression darkened further. How could she not see through Sophie’s scheming by now? Knowing the cameras were rolling, Sophie had deliberately pulled this underhanded stunt to make her relationship with Julian look intriguing. The recent filming was supposed to focus on her and Julian. Yet before she could even interact with him, Sophie had deliberately stolen the spotlight! Sophie’s manipulative tricks were simply too disgraceful.

A mocking smirk suddenly tugged at the corner of Stella’s lips.

"So that’s how it is..." she murmured softly.

Even without her spelling it out, many understood the implication. Was Sophie trying to mislead the future audience? Was she trying to manufacture a special atmosphere between herself and Mr. Sterling?

Naturally siding with Stella, the Kingsford University researcher immediately turned to Sophie with self-righteous indignation. "We all know exactly what the relationships here are. Sophie, just apologize to Miss Sutton. Tell her it wasn’t intentional, and we’ll leave it at that."

After all, Miss Sutton was his actual girlfriend! For Sophie to so brazenly flirt with the man right in front of his real partner—did she have no shame?

Sophie genuinely wanted to curse. She had to apologize to Stella Sutton? Julian was the one who had meddled, yet somehow it was *her* fault? Had these people sacrificed their brain cells just to defend Stella?

"You’re absolutely right. I forcefully pulled Mr. Sterling’s hands onto my waist. I threw myself at him, and this six-foot-three man was just too weak and helpless to push away a frail woman like me. You guys are so smart, you’ve got it all figured out."

Her patience had run out long ago. Though her tone was flat and devoid of emotion, the heavy sarcasm in her words made many people’s expressions turn awkward. When she put it that way, it did make sense...

Julian lowered his gaze, casually observing Sophie’s expression. Even though there was a faint smile on her face, the impatience in her eyes was palpable. If the cameras hadn’t been there, she probably would have said things that would make many of them wish the ground would swallow them whole.

"I think Mr. Sterling was just lending a helping hand out of basic decency," someone chimed in, trying to play peacemaker. "Besides, we’re all wearing the same clothes—lab coats, surgical caps, masks—completely covered up. How was Mr. Sterling supposed to know who he was catching? Furthermore, both Sophie and Miss Sutton have their hair up today. Maybe Mr. Sterling saw a resemblance to Miss Sutton and reacted instinctively out of affection."

This instantly softened Stella’s expression. She cast a glance at Sophie. Only then did she notice that Sophie’s hair was styled in an updo identical to hers. Their hair colors were similar, and both were wearing safety goggles. At a passing glance, it really was easy to mix them up.

"Now that you mention it, how did you coincidentally end up with the exact same look as Miss Sutton, Sophie?"

The comment made it sound as though Sophie were a pathetic copycat.

Renee Coleman couldn’t listen to this anymore. "Sophie always dresses like this when she enters the lab," she retorted in dissatisfaction. "Besides, who says Sophie and Miss Sutton look similar at a glance? Sophie is five foot seven—she’s clearly taller than Miss Sutton."

At Renee’s words, the surrounding gazes darted back and forth between Sophie and Stella. To their surprise, they realized that once stripped of the halo of being Julian Sterling’s girlfriend, Sophie was actually the more physically attractive of the two.

Stella pursed her lips, shooting Sophie a displeased glare. Was Sophie addicted to petty female rivalries? Who wanted to compete with her over looks anyway?

"You..." The person who had spoken up for Stella choked on their words, but someone else grumbled defensively, "Well, Miss Winslow should still clarify things with Miss Sutton."

Sophie understood now. In everyone’s eyes, Julian was Stella’s property. Sophie had infringed upon Stella’s rights. She needed to earn Stella’s generosity and permission before she could even interact with Julian.

Amused, Sophie looked straight at Stella, who was silently letting the people around her fight her battles. "Alright. Are you sure you want me to lay everything out on the table?"

How could Stella miss the underlying threat in Sophie’s words? There were so many people here, not to mention the live cameras. If Sophie lost her sense of propriety and leaked the truth...

Her face cooled, and she turned to the crowd with an air of nonchalance. "I appreciate everyone’s concern, but our research comes first. It’s fine, let’s get back to work."

Sophie almost wanted to applaud her magnanimity. At the very least, nobody could find fault with this perfect public persona.

Just as Sophie turned to leave, she noticed that the man beside her hadn’t moved an inch. His gaze rested on her face with ambiguous intent. Unable to parse his expression, Sophie frowned. She tilted her head up to meet his eyes. "Afraid I’ll talk too much?"

Julian’s deep eyes flickered slightly. "That is your freedom," he said at a leisurely pace. "As long as you’ve weighed the pros and cons."

Sophie fell silent. She had wanted to jab back at him, but Julian was stating a fact. She had promised the Sterling Family not to publicly reveal her identity as Mrs. Sterling, nor could she drag the family’s name through the mud. Naturally, this meant she couldn’t expose Stella as the homewrecker. Julian was warning her!

How he chose to defend Stella was none of her business anyway. Dismissing him entirely, Sophie turned on her heel and entered the lab. She pushed the interlude to the back of her mind, ignoring the occasional glances of mockery and disdain shot her way.

That evening, a large dinner was held to celebrate the end of their first day. Ivy Hawthorne was reviewing the master tapes with her team when she finally learned about the drama that had unfolded that afternoon.

As soon as she arrived at the restaurant, she plopped down right next to Sophie. "That Sutton woman must have her nose in the air! What were they thinking, making the lawful wife apologize and explain herself to the mistress?"

It was entirely backwards! Wasn’t it Sophie’s right as the legal wife to interact with Julian however she pleased?

Sophie poured her a cup of floral tea. "Here, have some tea and cool off."

Ivy pouted. "People like her need to be taught a lesson!"

Sophie looked at her in confusion. Ivy’s eyes swept across the room. Right on cue, Julian arrived. As the financial backer footing the bill for the entire event, he was accompanied by Stella, whose mood had clearly improved. As they walked, Stella leaned in to whisper something private in his ear, her face brimming with smiles. It seemed she had completely forgotten about the afternoon’s incident.

Ivy let out a cold laugh and promptly slammed her laptop onto the table. "Everyone, this must be your first time on camera, right? I edited a short segment this afternoon to use as part of our regular broadcast. You can all take a look at your performances."

Coincidentally, Julian and Stella took their seats right across from Sophie.

Stella smiled. "Is that so? Then let’s all have a look."

Ivy hit play. It didn’t take long for Stella’s expression to completely freeze. Ivy had edited in the footage of Julian and Sophie embracing that afternoon! Moreover, the clip lasted for nearly twenty seconds—more than enough to spark endless speculation.

The dinner, which had just been filled with lively chatter and laughter, plunged into an eerie, dead silence. Julian, the subject of the video, simply lifted his eyelids. Instead of questioning Ivy, he looked openly and unashamedly at Sophie.

Sophie hadn’t expected Ivy to pull a stunt like this, either.

Stella, however, refused to believe that Sophie hadn’t orchestrated the whole thing. Staring coldly at Ivy, she adopted a hardline stance. "I expect this footage to be deleted."