"...I'm sorry." Charles could feel a burning sensation in his lower abdomen. He wiped the cold sweat off of his head and said in an obscure and difficult manner.
His words nearly sent Sterling jumping out of bed. C-c-char... Charles was apologizing to Soph? He knew that the car accident was just a misunderstanding?
"Iâm afraid I can neither afford nor do I need your apology, Mr. Harris." Sophia sneered with trembling fingers. "Since you now know that this is all just a misunderstanding, am I allowed to leave Dream Club now?"
Charles hummed a response. Her furious and fearful face was reflected in his pupils. He felt as though his heart was being pierced with needles over and over again. It might not be fatal, but it was so painful that it was hard to bear.
âIs this... what love feels like?â
It seemed to be completely different from what Zachary described it to be. Instead of making him happy, it brought him bitterness instead.
After getting a definite answer, Sophia's taut body finally eased up slightly. She did not take another look at him as she hopped off the bed, turned her head, and trotted toward the elevator.
She did not want to see Charles, not even for a second!
"Soph!" Sterling was so confused with the things that had developed between Sophia and Charles. He looked at Sophia as she went further and further away. He propped his hands on the transfer bed, ready to get out of bed.
Nicole pressed him down and glared at him fiercely. "You better stay put!"
Charles pursed his lips, grasping the patient blouse much tighter now. He raised a foot and took a step forward but grimaced before stepping back again. It felt like thousands of cattiesâ worth of weight was weighing down on his chest.
"Ms. White is extremely emotional right now. If you really care about her, Mr. Harris, then I suggest that you stay away from her for a period of time,"
Victor said.
Charles glanced mildly at him and hummed a response in an exceedingly soft manner. There was a mixture of hostility in his eyes that he had not noticed before. "Please provide me with regular updates about Sophiaâs leg condition, Dr. Hemingway. Feel free to talk to me if you ever need anything."
"As I said, youâre neither my hirer nor my employer, so I am not obliged to disclose Ms. White's information to you. Please excuse me." Victor nodded slightly at Charles before pushing Sterling away with Nicole.
Charles lowered his head to look at the patient blouse in his hand. There were flickers in his eyes.
He then wiped the incessant cold sweat from his head, glanced in the direction where Sophia had left, and clutched his abdomen with a pale face. He trudged toward the elevator and went to the ward.
Sophia closed the door with a slam and locked it as soon as she returned to the ward. She then slumped against the door and slid to the ground.
The suit jacket on her body exuded an extremely aggressive aura, one that was just like Charlesâ. She licked her dry lips, unbuttoned the suit, and hurled it to the ground.
Sophia stared intently at the premium-quality handmade suit that was sprawled across the floor and stood up abruptly. She then trampled on the suit jacket with all her might.
Her bare feet did not cause any substantial damage to the suit jacket, so she put on her shoes and trampled on it a few more times.
It was only when the suit jacket was covered in shoe prints did she stoop to pick it up. She walked to the window and hurled the jacket downstairs without a single hesitation.
Knock, knock, knock!
Nicole's voice came through the door along with the knocking sounds. "It's me, Soph. Open the door."
Sophia wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. "I'm so tired today and want to rest for a while. Go and look after Sterling, Nicole."
"Are you crying?" Nicole sounded a little worried now. She said eagerly, "You can tell me anything, Soph. Donât bottle up your feelings!"
Sophia took a deep breath and fought back the tears that were threatening to flow out from the corners of her eyes. "I'm fine. I'm just too tired. Nicole, I tore my patient blouse, can you help me ask the nurse for another one and bring it to me tomorrow?"
Nicole replied, "Sure. Why donât you open the door and let me take a look first?"
"I really canât do that, Nicole." Sophia smiled bitterly. "I didnât want to wear Charlesâ clothes so I tossed it away earlier. I canât be meeting you without any clothes on, can I?"
This time, Nicole took a longer time to reply. "Okay, I will bring you a new patient blouse tomorrow."
She paused for a moment and said, "There is one more thing. Your brother wants to know how Mr. Harris learned the truth about the car accident. If he has any evidence with him, we need to try our best to get our hands on it so that we can better clarify things."
Both she and Sterling thought that it was best for them to clarify it so that others would not continue to make irresponsible remarks in front of Sophia next time.
"Iâm sorry for worrying you and Sterling, Nicole." Sophia lowered her eyes and clenched her hands that were hanging on her sides. "Charles and I werenât talking about this, though."
She did not want to talk too much. "Sterling has put too much pressure on his body today. I donât even know if heâs okay. You should get a doctor to check on him, Nicole."
Nicole said a few more things before leaving in a hurry.
It was not until the sound of her footsteps disappeared at the door that Sophia moved her already numb leg and walked to the bed.
She was sitting on the bed, warming her cold feet with her hands while looking at the table in front of her with vacant eyes. Her memories from two years ago started flooding back.
27th September. The day before Sophia's birthday. Thursday.
There was no lesson on a Thursday afternoon because all teachers had gone to attend a meeting. Sophia, Leah, Ryleigh, and Elaine agreed to go to Jonesâ residence to spend some time together.
She forgot who was the one who suggested that they play a game of truth or dare, but Sophia agreed with much excitement.
The three of them lost at first, so she eagerly asked several questions that she had been dying to know for a long time. However, she ran out of luck the next six to seven rounds after that as she was picked over and over again.
The questions she were asked from picking truth ranged from "When did you first have a crush on Charles?", "What's the most embarrassing thing youâve ever done to pursue Charles?", "Have you ever kissed Charles?" to "Have you ever had wet dreams about Charles?â. The parameter grew wider with every round.
When she was picked again, Sophia was terribly afraid of choosing truth this time that she picked dare instead.
The corners of Leahâs lips curved upward as she asked softly, "Are you sure? You canât regret it later."
Atrophy of Love: Mr. Harris, Stop Fooling Around!
ï¤Chapter 166 Donât Listen To His Nonsense "I will regret it?" Sophia laid backward on the couch like a hooligan. She rested her elbow on the armrest and dangled her hand back and forth. "Go ahead! Catching caterpillars, earthworms, or mice? Or do you want me to fight with two boys from the physical training school in front of our school?
Perhaps release a snake in the teacherâs office?â
Ryleigh's eyes lit up. She said cruelly, "These are so boring! The big bald donkey confiscated my papers last time and I had to retake my test. Why donât you put two piles of dog poo in his briefcase and disgust the sh*t out of him!"
"You do it. Iâm not doing that!" Sophia looked askance at her with a disdainful look on her face. "You got the marks you deserve. Who are you to blame for getting your papers confiscated for cheating in the test? Youâre lucky big bald donkey didnât give you a demerit and hold you back for another year!â
Ryleigh's face alternated between red and blue after hearing her words. She looked furious. "Do you think anyone wants to be like you? Just scraping the bare minimum, scoring only 61 or 62 marks?"