Leah tugged at his sleeve and said softly, "Thatâs enough, William. I donât blame her. After all, she was young and full of vigor back then. Itâs understandable why she did something so frenzied out of jealousy for Charles.â
"You are too kind, thatâs why others bully you and put you in this state today." William still had lingering fears from the car accident that year. "If it werenât for your luck, you would have lost your life now. How are you still speaking up for Sophia!"
Leah bit her lip and said in a spoiled manner, "She was once my friend, after all, William. Besides, apart from a broken leg, I didn't really suffer any other injuries."
The more she behaved like that, the more William blamed himself. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have been friends with her. You wouldn't have gotten into the car accident afterward..."
The conversation between the siblings made Sophia's stomach churn. She was feeling a strong urge to throw up.
She was truly not in the mood to watch them put on a performance to show their close sibling relationship. Before William could finish his sentence, she turned around and wanted to return to the ward.
Her right leg was sore and weak, but she did not want to show weakness in front of William and Leah. She gritted her teeth and trudged toward the ward without holding onto the wall for support.
As soon as she touched the doorknob, however, William strode over in just a few steps and grabbed her by the wrist before she could open the door.
He flashed her a cold stare. Amidst the disgusted and resentful look in his eyes, he tried his best to conceal the unbreakable affection within. "You can't go!"
"Let go!" Sophia struggled with all her might. However, as she had just recovered from a serious illness, she did not have much strength to break away.
William gripped her wrist harder. "Apologize to Leah!"
"Hah!" Sophia sneered and raised her head to look up at him. "This wasnât how you said it last time."
William's body went rigid. He darted a subconscious glance in Leah's direction, his face looking beyond sullen.
Sophia could taste the thrilling sensation of revenge when she noticed how embarrassed he looked. She licked her dry lips and said as slowly as she could, "If my memory serves me right, you told me that you still like me, that you canât forget me. You said that you will marry me after breaking off your marriage contract with Audrey. As for your mother and Leah, you said you would..."
"Stop talking!" William gritted his teeth and yelled at her, swinging her hand away hard.
Sophia's right leg had just received acupuncture treatment not long ago, so it was still sore and weak. His push sent her staggering, propelling back toward the corner of the wall near the door.
After seeing what was happening, William's pupils contracted. His good-looking face turned pale. He immediately reached out to pull her.
At the same time, the door of the opposite ward opened, and a figure rushed toward Sophia faster than him.
Bang!
The door of the ward was not fully shut. With Sophia in Charlesâ arms, the two slammed into the door with a loud bang. Then, he held onto the wall for support, barely managing to remain standing without having cold sweat seeping out of his forehead.
Seeing that Sophia did not hit the wall in the end, nor did she suffer the slightest injury, the glimmer in Leah's eyes dimmed a little. She looked slightly disappointed.
When she noticed that Charles was the one who was holding onto Sophia, her disappointment was intermingled with a tinge of jealousy. Though whether it was jealousy or disappointment, they dissipated in no time.
"Iâm glad youâre okay!" Leah said, "I was so shocked. If you had hit the narrow slit in the wall, you would need at least three or four stitches on your head. William will be eaten up by guilt if that happened."
William stared fixedly at Sophia who was currently lying in Charles' arms. His expression changed irregularly while his fists were clenched tightly.
"William doesnât need to feel guilty anymore. He just let you down, thatâs all." Charles let out a faint smile, his eyes slowly condensing into ice.
Leah smiled, concealing the jealousy hidden in the depth of her eyes. "You must be joking, Charles. Itâs clearly a good thing that Sophia isnât injured.
Why would I be disappointed?"
There was a strong scent of blood lingering at the end of her nose. Sophia frowned and looked in the direction where the scent of blood was the strongest. She saw blood flowing down from Charles' hand, dripping to the ground and smudging into an enchanting blood lotus. It was a ghastly sight to look at.
Was he injured?
Sophia did not know what she was currently feeling inside, but seeing him hurt sent a thrilling sensation that flowed in her veins. The corners of her mouth curved upward uncontrollably.
Perhaps Charles, Leah, and William had really driven her mad. Whenever things went south for them, she could not stop herself from feeling over the moon.
"Youâre even pushing a woman now? Youâre getting more and more capable now, arenât you?" Charles' gaze pierced straight at William with his hawk-
like eyes.
The look on Williamâs face was awfully sour. He glanced at Sophia's pale face and opened his mouth but ended up saying nothing at all.
"Youâve wronged William, Charles." Leah glanced at Sophia and said as though she was placed in a difficult position, "Just now, Sophia did sound a bit too... harsh. William was in a fit of pique. Thatâs why he ended up pushing Sophia accidentally."
Charles sneered and said sarcastically, "You poured hot tea all over Sophiaâs body last time and claimed that it was only an accident. Now, your brother nearly pushed Sophia to the ground and youâre claiming that it's an accident too? Leah, does your family have the tradition of doing something wrong accidentally?â
"Donât you think your words sound a bit too harsh, Mr. Harris!" Williamâs good-looking face was flushed as he roared in rage.
"I'm just telling the truth. When did you start having a heart of glass that you canât even bear the truth, Mr. Jones?" Charles stared at William with a razor-sharp gaze, penetrating him.
William's face alternated between red, white, and blue. "You..."
"Please keep it down, Mr. Jones." Charles tugged at his lips, unsmiling. "Weâre standing outside the wards. You will disturb other patientsâ rest if you cause a huge ruckus."
"Your grandfatherâs affair has been the talk of the town lately. If the news of you causing a ruckus in the hospital goes out, then it will affect both the Jones and Lewis familiesâ reputation."
Sophia stayed in Charles' arms for a long time before finally gaining some strength back in her right leg. Initially, she wanted to push him away and return to the ward, but after seeing the look on Leah's face, she retracted the hand that she was about to use to push Charles away.
It seemed like the intimate physical contact she was sharing with Charles was making Leah very uncomfortable.
Sophia's mouth curved into a mocking arc. She took the initiative to snug tighter into Charlesâ arms, putting them in an even more intimate and ambiguous posture.
If she was to pick whether she hated Charles or Leah more, she would pick the latter.
Atrophy of Love: Mr. Harris, Stop Fooling Around!
ï¤Chapter 174 She Was Totally Clueless As To What She Had Done Wrong Charles was a fool at best for getting used by Leah to humiliate and torture her. Leah, on the other hand... She had treated Leah as a friend, but she set her up for a man, pushing her deeper into the abyss every step of the way!
She did not mind enduring physical contact with Charles for a short while just to gross Leah out!
Charles sensed her movements and his body stiffened a little. He lowered his head to look at her, his Adam's apple rolling slightly. Then, he held her tighter. His heart that had always been a void for the last two years was suddenly filled to the brim.
"When did you get so close to Sophia, Charles? How enviable." Leahâs smile looked a little stiff after seeing the two pressing their bodies so tightly together that there was not a single gap in between them.
Sophia smiled, deliberately leaning her head on Charles' chest. She said in a somewhat ostentatious tone, "Not long, really. We just started today."