Chapter 148

“You more or less know what happened during the accident two years ago, don’t you? Mr. White,” Charles asked slowly, firmly fixing his gaze on James.

This was the first time James was discussing the accident two years ago with Charles. He weighed his options for a while and kept his eyes on Charles’ face as he said, “It doesn’t matter who was in the right or wrong back then. In the end, the one who was hurt was Leah. Sophia’s leg was broken and she was thrown into prison, so that was her justifiable punishment. As for...”

“You sure are a “good’ guy,” Charles interrupted him with a laugh.

James did not understand what he meant. He thought it was a compliment, so he said politely, “Sophia made a mistake, so she naturally should be punished. Although she’s my daughter, I have to be fair, right? I can’t just take her side.”

“Yeah, you’re such a philanthropist.” Charles chuckled softly.

James smiled. “So about that land in G City...”

He trailed off there, but the unspoken words were quite clear.

“Join the auction as usual. I’d advise you to prepare more money. If your company doesn’t have enough liquid funds, you can take a loan from the bank. I’m busy, so I’ll take my leave now.” Charles strode away before James could stop him.

James’s smile faded, replaced with a look of dazed confusion on his handsome middle-aged face. He watched as Charles’s back disappeared from sight, his perplexity only deepening.

Charles was still angry at the Whites over Sophia’s running over Leah, but he had cut all ties with Sophia now, so why was Charles still upset with him?

At the same time, the way Charles looked at Sophia today was not a look of hatred. It seemed more like... He frowned and glanced at the room. After much contemplation, he went inside.

Sophia’s expression was hard as she walked barefoot to the grassy area in front of the hospital. There were lights in the vicinity, but they were not very bright. At the same time, it was already nine in the night, so the patients and their visiting family members had long since gone back from their strolls. The place was empty.

The cold sensation crawled up her feet, going up her legs, her body, her arms... Her entire body felt ice-cold, except for the burning fire in her heart.

The flames did not warm her up, burning solely on fury and pent-up frustrations. They threatened to burn her soul to cinders.

“Put up some shoes, Soph. The ground is cold and bad for your health.” Nicole stood behind her for a long time before heaving a quiet sigh. She brought the shoes up to Sophia.

Be it her crippled leg or her faulty lungs, both would only get worse if she caught a chill.

Sophia kept her head low, not looking at Nicole or putting on her shoes. The cold in her body and the heat in her heart wove together, making her feel like she was boiling alive in hot oil.

“No matter how mad you are, you shouldn’t put your health at risk over it. If your condition gets worse, you’ll be the one in pain, not the people you hate.” Nicole crouched down and grabbed her foot. “Lift your leg.”

Sophia shook her head. There was something moist flowing down the corner of her eye, and she hurriedly wiped it away. Her voice was somewhat hoarse as she said, “I want some time to cool off by myself. Nicole, you should head back inside. It’s cold out here.”

“I told you to lift your leg, so do it. Do you want to tick me off?” Nicole looked up and barked at her, “If you keep being so stubborn, I’ll sic your brother on you.”

Sophia laughed, a tear flowing into her mouth. It was salty. “He’s practically disabled now. He can’t get out of bed, let alone hit me.”

As she said that, she lifted the right foot Nicole was holding.

“I’ll let him hit you once he gets better.” Nicole put the shoe on her right foot and then grabbed her right foot. “Lift your leg.”

Sophia lifted her left leg and looked down at Nicole, who was putting her shoe on for her. There was a suffocating stuffiness in her chest.

She hastily wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall and laughed again. “Ster could never bear to hit me.”

“You know how much he cares for you, so why are you still tormenting yourself like this?” Nicole stood up once she had helped Sophia put on her shoes. Her eyes slightly red, she said, “Do you have any idea how life has been for your brother these past two years? He kept drinking himself silly.

Once he was drunk enough, he would crouch on the floor and bury his face in his hands, sobbing that he had let you down...”

Nicole’s voice caught in her throat, and she took a deep breath. When she next spoke, her voice was back to normal. “He’s started training at the company now. You know how he is, he messed up all the time at work, and several times he came home in a right temper, saying that he won’t ever go back. The next day, though, he’d just go to work an hour earlier. I was starting to think that he’s been replaced by a doppelganger!”

Sophia lowered her head and said nothing, her upper body shrouded in shadow. Nicole could not see her expression, but she could see the sparkling liquid dripping onto her shoes.

“Your brother’s doing all that because he wants to help you.” Nicole patted the back of Sophia’s hand gently, her voice extremely soft. “That’s why you shouldn’t torture yourself like this. You’re breaking his heart as well as mine.”

Over the past two years, Sophia only cried in front of her brother and sister-in-law once, during the party a while ago in that dark stairwell. The rest of the time, no matter how angry and upset she was, she never shed a single tear in front of anyone else.

This time, though, she could not hold the tears back anymore, no matter how she tried. She threw her head back to try and blink the tears away, but more tears just flowed down her neck past her ears.

The two years in prison had robbed her of all her pride and stubbornness. The only reason she had for living was to meet her parents, brother and sister-in-law after leaving prison. After that, she wanted to kill herself and leave this painful world.

What she did not expect, though, was that she would encounter Charles before her parents. He threatened her into working at Dream Club, and her life became a living hell thereafter.

She thought that her time in prison would be the darkest days of her life, but she never imagined that her loving parents would suddenly turn on her with vicious gazes and harsh words. The humiliation and torture she suffered when she was working at Dream Club only made her even wearier in body and soul...

That was when she realized that the darkest days of her life were just beginning.

Every day was filled with exhaustion, pain, helplessness, and despair. The best ending she could think of was death, but she did not want to drag her brother and sister-in-law into her mess, so she forced herself to stumble through a life not worth living...

A weak, wimpy, shameless murderer. That was what others called her, forcing the labels on her. Sometimes those words would hurt her, but she had experienced death several times now. All that mattered to her were her brother and sister-in-law. As for what the others said, she had grown numb to it.

“Soph...” Nicole took off her coat and put it over Sophia’s shoulders. After some hesitation, she said, “No matter how powerful the Harrises are, they can’t just ignore the law. You don’t have to be humiliated at Dream Club because of Sterling and me. How about this? Once you’re discharged from the hospital this time, the two of us will find a way to send you overseas. You don’t ever have to come back.”

Sophia lowered her head and rubbed her tears away stiffly. Her voice hoarse, she said, “I’m fine.”

“I mean it. Once you leave the hospital, you should leave the country too.” Nicole sighed. “Look at how you ended up, all because of us. Your brother and I don’t like seeing you like this either.”

She smiled. “As for Mr. Harris... No matter how mad he gets, he can’t possibly kill us.”

Atrophy of Love: Mr. Harris, Stop Fooling Around!

Chapter 147 Don't Go Calling Anyone Your Daughter “A lot of times, there are fates much worse than death.” Sophia looked up at the pitch-black sky, no trace of light in her eyes. It was as though she was a lifeless doll.