Her Divorce, His Downfall (Sophia and Damian) novel Chapter 86

Chapter 86

To his surprise, Sophia actually liked studying.

She’d sit in his lap, quiet and well-behaved, carefully tracing each word as she practiced writing. She’d fill an entire page before eventually dozing off in his arms.

Julian let out a quiet laugh. Maybe he really did have a knack for this-his first time watching a kid, and it had been that easy.

After that, Sophia started coming by more often. Whenever Damian made her cry, Julian was always the first to comfort her.

Over time, he got used to having her around. Before he knew it, he even started looking forward to it.

Then, for a long stretch, neither Elaine nor Sophia showed up at

the Hall Residence.

When Julian asked around, he found out that Elaine had passed away. Michael had remarried and brought home a six-year-old daughter.

After Elaine’s death, the relationship between the Hall family and the Andersons slowly cooled.

Catherine felt deeply sorry for Elaine. She had just died, and 1/8

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Michael had already brought another woman-and her illegitimate daughter-into the house.

Some lifelong devotion. Turned out to be nothing but calculated performance. A lie people told themselves.

People like that made her sick. She wanted nothing to do with

them.

But Julian couldn’t stop worrying about Sophia. He’d sneak out to see her whenever he could.

The lively, cheerful girl who’d once been pampered like a little princess had turned withdrawn and quiet.

It broke his heart.

But back then, he was only sixteen, and the Hall family was still under Bradley’s control. He didn’t have a say.

And so, four years passed like that. Until Sophia turned twelve.

When Julian found out Michael was planning to send Sophia to study in France without a guardian, he immediately withdrew from school in New York and applied to a university in France- and got in soon after.

Then he went to Michael and offered to be Sophia’s guardian while she studied abroad.

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He explained that he’d be continuing his education there anyway, and given how close the Hall and Anderson families used to be…

Michael understood exactly what he was getting at.

Back when Elaine was alive, the two families really had been

close.

But after she died-and after he went ahead and married Rhea -the gossip never really stopped. Not that there was much he could do about it.

Rhea might’ve known how to please a man, but beyond that, she didn’t bring him any real advantages.

In New York’s elite social circles, most wives came from powerful families. Someone like Rhea was bound to be looked down on.

So when Michael was scrambling to figure out how to patch things up with the Hall family, Julian-the Halls’ most favored son-came to him personally and offered to look after Sophia.

It gave him exactly the opening he needed. No way he was turning that down.

So he agreed.

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Just like that, Julian took Sophia-along with Dorothy, the housekeeper who’d cared for her since childhood-and left for France to start a new life.

When Sophia first arrived in France, everything felt unfamiliar —the environment, the language. It left her anxious and uneasy.

On top of that, she still hadn’t fully recovered from losing her mother. She was so afraid she couldn’t even stay in the dorms alone.

So Julian bought a villa near her school and had her move in.

While continuing his own studies, he made it a point to drive her to and from school every single day. Never missed.

Truth was, after losing her mother and watching Michael openly favor Isabelle, Sophia had changed.

She got quieter, more withdrawn. Often anxious. Sometimes she’d break down crying for no clear reason.

The nightmares started coming every night. She’d wake up screaming, her eyes still filled with fear.

Over and over, Julian rushed into her room, pulling her into his arms, gently patting her back and humming softly until she finally fell asleep.

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Later, to keep the nightmares from coming back, he just started staying in her room at night-sleeping by her side with his own blanket.

Only when Sophia clutched the corner of his pajama shirt would she finally dare to close her eyes.

With him there, she could finally sleep through the night.

Julian spent his twenties like that—taking care of her while keeping up with his studies.

In France, that was their life for six years.

The girl he’d carefully taken care of, the one he’d protected, eventually grew into her own.

She wasn’t timid or withdrawn anymore.

Her smile came back. She became confident. Radiant.

Composed.

Sophia’s eighteenth birthday was arranged entirely by him.

Under the dazzling lights of the ballroom, she stood at the center in a gown tailored just for her-stunning beyond words.

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And yet, her eyes were fixed on someone else.

A gentle, refined boy standing beside her.

She looked at him so intently that she didn’t even notice the affection in Damian’s gaze.

Julian had always known.

Sophia liked that boy-Connor Wilson.

She’d even brought him back to the villa once, excitedly introducing him.

“Julian, this is Connor-my classmate. He’s here to help me study tonight. Could you ask Dorothy to prepare one more dinner? Thanks.”

The way she looked at Connor-open, unguarded, so full of affection-stung his eyes.

A faint bitterness rose in Julian’s chest, his fingers tightening slightly around his glass.

He’d always known that Sophia would grow up, spread her wings, and marry someone someday.

But knowing it in theory and seeing it happen right in front of

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