He Divorced Me Six Years Ago Without Me Knowing Chapter 01

He Divorced Me Six Years Ago Without Me Knowing Chapter 01

Three months after Sophia Bennett left her law practice and became a relationship advice influencer, a female follower who had called into her livestream suddenly asked, “Ms. Bennett, you practiced law for eight years, but after your husband became Chief Judge of the Riverton County Superior Court, you had no choice but to change careers. Do you regret it?”

Sophia froze for a second. She was startled that this woman knew so much about her private life, but she quickly answered, “No. I don’t regret it.”

At the thought of her husband, Julian Hayes, a faint smile touched Sophia’s lips. He was aloof, restrained, and hard to read. He was never good with words, but he had shown her all his love through his actions.

Over the past eight years, Julian had been offered five chances to be appointed Chief Judge of the Riverton County Superior Court. But if he accepted the position, Sophia, as an attorney, could no longer take any litigation in Riverton because of the conflict of interest.

So, for Sophia’s sake, Julian had turned down the appointment five times. This time, Sophia was the one who did not want him to live with any more regrets, so she chose to resign on her own.

“You don’t regret it?” The female follower on the other end of the livestream gave a laugh that carried an unreadable edge. “But I do.”

…

“I regret standing by Julian from the days when he was just a small-town scholarship kid trying to test his way into a better life, only for you to swoop in and take the prize once he made it.”

Then she added, “Ms. Bennett, give him back to me, would you?”

Sophia’s mind went blank before she could even process what she had heard. Then another sound came from the woman’s side of the call.

“The chicken soup is ready. Come have some.”

Sophia went cold all over. She recognized that voice. It was Julian.

The man who had told Sophia that very morning he had to work late was now speaking gently to another woman. “You’re on your period, so take it easy. I’ll go to our son’s parent-teacher conference tomorrow.”

In an instant, it felt as if all the blood in Sophia’s body had frozen.

“Did you hear that, Ms. Bennett? We also have a five-year-old child.” The female follower laughed softly again, as if turning back to speak to someone. “Julian, do you want to say hello to your wife? Maybe introduce me and our son?”

The moment she finished speaking, both ends of the call fell silent.

Sophia only heard the heavy breathing of a man on the other side. Then the livestream connection was cut off completely.

Two hours later, Julian pushed open the front door.

When he met Sophia’s reddened eyes, he froze for the briefest moment. Then he walked toward her at an unhurried pace and said, “Sophia, it’s just as well that you know now. This is compensation.”

Julian held out the gift he had prepared. Sophia lifted her eyes and saw a pink diamond ring.

How ironic.

After eight years of marriage, Julian had built another family behind her back and even had a five-year-old illegitimate son.

And all she got in return was his careless “it’s fine that you know now” and a pink diamond ring as compensation.

“Julian, who is she? Don’t you owe me an explanation?” Sophia turned her face away, holding back the sting in her nose.

Julian looked at the gift still in his hand and paused for a moment before saying flatly, “Her name is Claire Morgan. She was my first love. Six years ago, we crossed paths again by chance, and she had my child.”

He sat down beside Sophia. She tried to move away, but he forcibly grabbed her wrist.

“Sophia, she and the child are my responsibility. Don’t go after them, and you’ll always be Mrs. Hayes.”

Julian stared at her profile and forcefully slid the pink diamond ring onto her ring finger.

That night, Julian slept in the study.

After Sophia removed the pink diamond ring with trembling hands, she sent a message to her friend, a private investigator.

Sophia: [Look into Julian and Claire for me.]

A file soon arrived on her phone.

It turned out that Claire and Julian had grown up together.

In high school, Claire’s striking beauty had drawn one problem after another, but Julian had always protected her.

Who would have thought that the cold, dignified Julian of today had once risked his life for Claire, getting into one group fight after another with off-campus punks?

Yet after Claire followed Julian to Riverton for college, she soon fell into the arms of a trust-fund rich kid who had been pursuing her and left the country with him.

Six years ago, after her husband’s business collapsed, Claire returned to Riverton and ended up in divorce court. She never expected that the judge on her case would be Julian.

He was the one who helped Claire get divorced. After that, he kept taking care of her behind Sophia’s back, so closely that they even ended up with a five-year-old illegitimate son.

After reading through the file, Sophia felt as if something had clenched hard around her heart.

Then she opened Claire’s photo, and her whole body went cold.

No wonder Julian had risked his life to save her the first time they met. It turned out that she looked strikingly like Claire.

Sophia stared hard at the photo as memories came flooding back like a tide.

The first time she met Julian was right after she had won a case and the defendant came after her in retaliation.

When the defendant drove a car straight at her, Julian had shoved her out of the way in panic, only to be hit himself and sent flying dozens of yards.

Only after that did Sophia learn that he was also a judge. Out of gratitude and guilt, she had stayed by his side and taken care of him throughout his recovery.

But Julian would often stare at her face as if lost in thought. After he was discharged from the hospital, he began pursuing her with almost desperate intensity.

When Sophia ran into difficult cases, he would take the initiative to help her organize the evidence and build the case. When Sophia had a high fever and was being harassed by an aggressive defendant, he would step in front of her. When he learned that Sophia often skipped meals, he began sending breakfast, lunch, and dinner to her law firm right on schedule every day.

Julian was never good with words, but through his actions, he gradually made himself a part of Sophia’s everyday life.

After he learned that Sophia was worried their relationship might affect both their careers, he even took the initiative to transfer out of the downtown courthouse.

From then on, the cases they handled never overlapped again, and they no longer had to avoid conflicts of interest.

On the day he proposed, Julian said solemnly to Sophia, “Before I met you, becoming chief judge was my dream. But now, you are the future I want most, Sophia. Trust me. I will never let go of your hand again.”

After they got married, he truly seemed to keep that promise. He commuted three hours every day to work at a suburban county courthouse without a single complaint. Over eight years, he also turned down five appointments for Sophia’s sake.

Sophia had always believed that Julian loved her. Only now did she realize that she had merely been a pathetic stand-in.

Maybe when Julian saved her back then, he had only mistaken her for Claire, the woman he had never gotten over.

Sophia closed her eyes, but her tears broke free like a dam bursting. After a long while, she finally let out a heavy, trembling breath and drew up a divorce agreement with shaking hands.

Then she sent a message to Ethan Walker, her law school senior, agreeing to go to Southport soon and become a partner at his law firm.