You Had Me, You Lost Me, You'll Never Find Me novel Chapter 144

The sudden turn of events caught Harriet entirely off guard. Staring at the torn pieces of the check, an absurd sense of disbelief washed over her.

She was a woman who always had the final say in the corporate world. Since when did a little girl ever dare to defy her so brazenly?

Harriet's face darkened drastically. She slammed her hand onto the table with a sharp smack. "What is the meaning of this?"

The loud crack drew the attention of several nearby tables. Sylvia clutched her phone tightly, maintaining her composed demeanor.

Taking a deep breath, Harriet forced herself back into her elegant facade. "You refuse to leave him? And what exactly do you bring to the table? A little girl with absolutely nothing to her name?"

Sylvia met her gaze evenly. "I know that by being with Julian, I am reaching far above my station, acting selfishly. But now that I have chosen him, I am not going to second-guess it. A relationship between two people shouldn't be derailed by outside interference."

Harriet's expression grew dangerously stormy. Fearing that staying longer would only escalate the hostility, Sylvia excused herself and left the coffee shop.

—

Sylvia remained silent long after her departure. Though her refusal had been unwavering, she actually possessed very little confidence in her own stance.

Harriet's words were deeply grounded in reality. The undeniable truth was that Sylvia had brought a mountain of trouble into Julian's life.

When she arrived at the hospital, she immediately overheard the staff murmuring in the corridors.

"The head of orthopedics just resigned too. The department is completely gutted now. Who knows if we'll even get paid next month."

"We're just collateral damage in their billionaire war."

"Dr. Sterling is seriously out of luck. I heard his family gave him this hospital as a practice run, and look what it's turned into."

...

Hearing their whispers made Sylvia's chest ache. After a moment of hesitation, she decided not to seek out Julian and turned to leave.

Watching the shift in Sylvia's expression, Reina let out a knowing laugh. "Don't tell me you actually thought Ashton was destroying Julian because of you?"

"You have no idea how much Ashton spoils me. When my sister Rebecca died, he promised her he would take care of me. So no matter what I ask for, he will always agree."

How could Sylvia not know? Back when she had accidentally touched the old receipts that held Ashton and Rebecca's memories, his explosive fury and the sheer cruelty of his words remained etched into her memory to this day.

If it was the dying wish of the woman he loved, he truly would agree to anything.

That was precisely why Ashton treated Reina with such exceptional privilege, fiercely protecting her at every turn.

Honestly, holding onto the past felt utterly pointless now.

Sylvia raised her eyes. "If Julian agrees to perform the surgery now, will you tell Ashton to stop?"

"No," Reina rejected the idea instantly. "Ashton has already arranged a world-class medical team for me. I don't need Julian anymore, so why should I care what happens to him?"