Chapter 86


    Two Years Later


    At the end of June, Wye City was all sunshine and the perfect kind of warm, with a hint of early summer


    humidity in the air


    Sophia had just stepped into the office when her buddy Sylvia slid a design proposal across the desk to


    her, and didn’t miss a beat to remind her, “Hey Sophia, don’t forget we’ve got graduationing up in a


    couple of days.”


    Sophia paused momentarily, then remembered indeed there was such an event and nodded, “Yeah,


    got it.”


    She shot Sylvia a grateful smile, Thanks a bunch.”


    With a chuckle, Sylvia pped her on the shoulder, “No need to be formal with me.”


    Sylvia and Sophia were ssmates. She was a local. They’d entered Dempsey Architects as interns


    together, worked as a team on studies and now on the job too. Sylvia was one of the few good friends


    Sophia had in Wye City.


    Sophia had joined Dempsey Architects a little over a year ago.


    Initially, she hadn’t nned on joining, and despite a year of persuasion from Don and Ivan, she hadn’t


    budged.


    But as it turned out, she couldn’t find a better fit for her internship. As a student and newbie, no other


    firm would dare to let her dive right into project design. Usually, she’d start as a glorified errand–runner,


    with limited chances to really cut her teeth, plus the cultural differences and fixed office hours. After


    scouting around, Sophia eventually went with Dempsey Architects.


    They must have really dug her design style, because Don gave her plenty of freedom and responsibility


    at work. Right off the bat, she was the lead designer, and they seriously respected her ideas and


    inspiration. She didn’t have to clock in and out every day, just needed to show up for the big


    brainstorming sessions and other creative meetings. Aside from that, it was mostly online chats.


    For the first six months, with work and studies, Sophia hardly had to stick to office hours.


    Only in the past few months, after wrapping up her final design project, did she start to settle into a


    more regr routine. But Don didn’t really enforce the whole clocking in thing for her, so she was


    mostly free to manage her own time.


    Sylvia had also started the daily grind of clocking in only in the past few months when her coursework


    eased up. She had less experience, having gone straight from undergrad to grad school, and didn’t


    have any big projects under her belt, so she started out as an assistant.


    Sophia might not have officially worked a day in thepany. But thanks to her crisis awareness


    during her student years, she knew from the get–go that her family wouldn’t be able to help her career–


    wise. Since her freshman year, she’d been itching to push her skills further at Apex Engineering


    University, knowing full well her family couldn’t provide that support, whether financially or emotionally.


    So, she was mentally gearing up for her future early on.


    From the moment she set foot in college, she kept an eye out for any potential money–making gigs.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    She was studying architecture, leaning towards design, and had a knack for drawing and designing.


    Initially, she started with cover designs and original character drawings for books through a friend’s


    referral.


    Her serious work ethic and appealing style made her a hit with a broad audience, and soon she had a


    steady Tow of publishers, with authors specifically requesting her for their character designs and cover


    art. Conasquently, her Ie started to rise with the tide.


    unior year during the IP boom, she leveraged herwork from previous original artwork and cover


    Look on several IP adaptation projects, all well–received Riding that market way, Sophie


    her first pot of gold.


    Though it might have been chump changepared to what Brandon and his crowd spent on a


    vacation, for Sophia, it meant she could fund her studies abroad and save up a little for pre–marriage,


    so she wouldn’t be at sixes and sevens when life’s crossroads came calling.


    But Sophia was clear that this was just a means to fund her dreams.


    Her true goal was to be an architectural designer. So, throughout her four years at university,


    aside from side hustles, she poured her time into honing her skills and gaining practical experience,


    which included participating in various architectural designpetitions both at home and abroad.


    Sophia had a clear game n back then.


    After graduation, she aimed to join the reputable Dempsey Architects. As a rookie, she didn’t stand a


    chance against seasoned pros, so she figured she’d beef up her resume withpetition experience,


    complete with projects and awards, making her job applications shine. She poured her heart into


    prepping for these


    contests.


    While everyone else was still basking in the post–test glow, Sophia’s life revolved around sses and


    the library.


    She was practically a fixture there, devouring books, seeking inspiration, sketching, and revising


    designs over and over. Maybe it was a case of fortune favoring the bold, or perhaps she had a genuine


    ir for it, but Sophia snagged a second–ce prize at a major architectural designpetition in her


    freshman year.


    That was big news for a freshman in her college, and it caught the attention of her professor and


    renowned domestic architect, Zachary Gardner. Beyond her studies, she started getting her hands dirty


    with real projects under his guidance.


    Sophia didn’t disappoint, working tirelessly, earning Zachary’s appreciation, and gradually moving from


    nameless team projects to credited ones.


    In her senior year, Zachary, swamped with work, handed off andmark project he deemed not too


    critical to Sophia for solo design. To everyone’s surprise, she nailed it in one go. And when the project


    waspleted, it quickly became a popr local visiting spot, raking in praise and turning into an


    Instagram sensation.


    Sophia might have taken a bit of a detour in life’s journey because of her pregnancy and marriage, but


    that didn’t mean she settled for ying house and stirring soups at home just because she married a


    guy with deep pockets and clout. She never had any obsession with high society. It’s just that the guy


    she fell for happened toe from wealth.


    She was crystal clear that she couldn’t vibe with that Patricia–style luxury living.


    It’s not that she was trying to be all high and mighty. She was just too used to being a free spirit, relying


    on herself for everything, and she had her own financial chops and foundation. She really couldn’t


    stomach ying the graveling game just to butter people up.


    So, even though she wasn’t clocking in at a job, she kept the coboration going with Zachary. Over


    those two years, she managed to churn out a few design pieces here and there.


    All that work experience and the portfolio she built up since her student days cracked open a window of


    opportunity for her, thanks to Don.


    Sophia was super grateful to Don for giving her that shot at a job, and she was equally thankful for the


    hustle she put in during her college years and those two years of marriage.