Her Divorce, His Downfall (Sophia and Damian) novel Chapter 88

Chapter 88

That instinctive gesture was exactly the same as back in France, when she used to grab the corner of his shirt and refuse to let go.

Sophia still relied on him just as much as before.

A warmth flickered through Julian’s chest.

He turned his hand over and gently clasped her cool fingers, then deliberately put on a stern expression.

“Did you hear what the doctor said? Focus on recovering. Don’t overthink anything else.”

He paused, his voice dropping lower-quiet, but edged with something cold.

“I’ll get to the bottom of that fire. No matter who hurt you… I won’t let them get away with it.”

Her father’s favoritism.

Her husband’s betrayal.

It all pressed down on Sophia, making it hard for her to breathe.

Back when she married Damian, his gunshot wound hadn’t fully healed, and he didn’t have the energy to plan a proper wedding3.5

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He was in a hurry to marry her, so in the end, they skipped the ceremony altogether-just a small family dinner, and that was it.

As Damian’s uncle, Julian hadn’t come.

Sophia had always thought… he was angry with her-for not letting him meet her future husband first.

She had promised him that when she got married one day, she would let him meet the man first.

But she broke that promise.

She rushed into marriage.

And yet, not only did he not blame her, he had rushed back across continents to save her.

He even said he would stand up for her.

Something in Sophia’s heart-long frozen over-began to crack, warmth slowly seeping in.

She had always known.

Julian… had always been the one who cared about her the most.

Her lashes trembled, her eyes reddening as her voice came out

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hoarse.

“Why… are you so good to me?”

Julian froze.

His gaze softened, lingering on her fragile, tear-streaked face.

Why?

Was it because of what Elaine had asked of him before she died?

He didn’t know.

All he knew was that without her, every day felt unbearably long.

He missed her.

He missed every day they had spent together in France.

But she had grown up.

She had her own life. Her own choices.

She would fall for someone. Get married.

If he refused to let go… what would that make him?

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And what right did he have to stay by her side?

So he let go.

From a place she couldn’t see, no matter who she chose, he told himself he would bless her.

But reality hadn’t turned out that way.

In just three years, that marriage had worn her down—leaving her fragile. Exhausted.

She had nearly died more than once.

How was he supposed to accept that?

For the first time, he realized-leaving Sophia had been a

mistake.

The girl he had raised… should have been protected by him.

But how could he ever say any of this to her?

He was afraid.

Afraid of scaring her away.

After a long silence, he let out a quiet breath.

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He leaned closer, a faint frown creasing his face, something unreadable flickering in his eyes.

“It’s because of Elaine.”

He looked at her, pain lingering in his gaze as he spoke slowly.

“The year she got seriously ill, I went to visit her with Catherine. She held my hand and told me… the person she worried about most in this world was you.”

“She’d known about your father’s affair for a long time. She had proof. She’d even seen them together herself.”

“Every day, those things cut into her like a blade. She wanted to leave. To walk away completely.”

He paused, his voice heavy.

“But then she saw how much you depended on him. The way you called him ‘Dad’… you were still so little. She couldn’t bring herself to hurt you.”

“Michael used your custody against her. He even used her diagnosis-severe depression-to force her to stay.”

Julian’s throat tightened before he continued.

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