Chapter 351

Charles turned her body over, and with one hand pressed to the back of her head, his other hand moved gently across her lower back.

He was rarely so gentle with her and her heart could not help but soften toward him. Her arms naturally wrapped around his neck as she carefully returned his kiss.

The kiss gradually went a little out of control as the panting sounds in the room eventually became heavier.

By the time Sophia came back to her senses, the clothes she put on mere moments ago had fallen to the ground. Both their bodies were pressed together skin to skin.

She suppressed the hollowness surging through her lower body, and just as she was about to push Charles away, he stopped.

“I’m going to take a shower.” He got up awkwardly, unable to cover his body’s reaction from her gaze.

Sophia nodded vaguely and pulled the duvet higher to cover her body, then lowered her eyes to avoid his gaze.

Charles made his way to the bathroom, but just as he was about to enter, Sophia called out to him, “Charles!”

“Yeah?” He turned back and looked at her. Under the dim, yellow light, his lashes seemed to have been doused in gold as they glimmered.

She propped herself up with both hands on the bed. “I... Charles, I’m just asking hypothetically. Would you ever... Do anything to hurt me?”

“Why are you asking me that?” Charles let go of the door handle and turned to look at her.

Sophia bit her lip. “I told you just now, I’m just asking hypothetically. If... You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to.”

“If I say I won’t, will you believe me?” Charles asked back instead of answering her question.

Sophia did not reply right away.

“It doesn’t matter whether you believe me, but I will never do that,” Charles looked straight into her eyes and said to her in a solemn tone. Then, he walked into the bathroom.

Looking at the closed door in front of her, Sophia felt a mix of emotions.

Charles had hurt her because of misunderstandings in the past, but at the same time, he also suffered a lot just to protect her. On the other hand, she had known Nicole for so many years now, and like her brother, Nicole trusted and protected her unconditionally all this while...

Which one of them was the one lying to her now?

Was there something that happened that caused Nicole to misunderstand Charles?

Sophia’s head was beginning to ache from all the thinking. She took her phone out and looked up her chat with Nicole. After hesitating over and over again, she decided not to delete anything.

-

The next morning after Charles left for work, Sophia received a call from Nicole.

“Soph, Father has already been in the hospital for three days now and the doctor still says that his condition doesn’t look good. Why don’t we pay him a visit today? After all, he’s still Sterling’s and your biological father.” Nicole suggested.

Sophia agreed.

There was no doubt that she hated her father, but that did not mean that she wanted him to die. Besides, she would get the chance to talk to Nicole and ask her about her mother’s online friend.

Since the White family had become the internet’s latest enemy, Sophia remembered to put on a cap, a mask, and a pair of dark shades before hailing a cab to the hospital.

By the time Sophia arrived at the hospital ward, Sterling and Nicole were already there.

James was lying on the hospital bed. It had only been two days, but he already lost so much weight that his hospital gown hung loosely over his frail frame.

All of a sudden, she noticed how white his hair was. It made him look much older, nothing like the 40-year-old man he once was.

“Get out!” As soon as James saw Sophia coming in, he sat up aggravatedly and yelled, “Get out now! I don’t want to see you!”

Perhaps he had not been drinking water, so his voice was hoarse and unpleasant, just like an old, rusty gong.

Although Sterling’s eyes were filled with worry, his tone was impatient and annoyed. “Can you shut up! If it wasn’t for the fact that we’re worried about being blamed for your death, do you think we’d still be here?”

“Can you just shut up for a bit?” Nicole gave Sterling a stern glare.

James covered his mouth and coughed before yelling at Sterling, “Scram! Get out of here, both of you! If it weren’t for the two of you, Jenny wouldn’t have been forced to commit suicide... Cough... Cough, cough, cough!”

“What? Your body is too weak, I think you shouldn’t speak so much.” Sterling paled as he rushed to James’ bedside.

Sophia kept quiet as she headed out to get a doctor.

The doctor came in and did a routine checkup on James. “Mr. White, please try to control your temper, this isn’t good for your recovery.”

After that, the doctor added a few pieces of advice to Sophia and the others before leaving the room.

As the sun shone in through the window, the rays of light highlighted the wrinkle lines on James’ face. He sat up in bed as he panted heavily. “All of you, get the hell out of here now! Even if I die, I don’t need you to come and see me!”

“Can you stop talking about dying?” Sterling was worried, but at the same time, upset about how James was acting. “You were nowhere to be found when Mother died, so maybe try asking yourself who’s the one who forced her to die?”

James’ expression instantly darkened when he heard Sterling’s words. He pointed a finger at Sterling, but no words came out of his mouth.

Then, he suddenly withdrew his hand and hit his chest.

Back then, he fell in love at first sight with Jenny and they had been together ever since his first year of college. After so many years of being together, she refused to see him one last time before dying!

He endured his parent-in-laws’ harsh criticism and worked hard in the business field, putting in all his effort to develop White Industries. He had done everything for this family and to provide Jenny a good life, had he not?

However... However, she did not even want to see him before she died, nor did she even mention him in her will!

Terrible!

He felt incredibly terrible!

After everything he had done for so many years, what were they for?!

“Here.”

A piece of tissue paper appeared in front of him.

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

Chapter 350 Nicole Would Never Malign Charles James looked up only to meet Sophia’s cold expression. He wiped away the tears brimming the edge of his eyes with the back of his hand. He turned away with a snort, ignoring the tissue paper she held in her hand.

Sophia did not bother either. She threw the tissue paper on the bed and sneered. “You don’t have to use this attitude against me.

“You raised me up to be a spoiled brat, and just to make sure that I got kicked out of the White family for your own personal gains, you let them send me to prison without speaking up for me... No matter what, you’re the one who did me wrong, not the other way around.”

James’ expression changed instantly, but he kept quiet. He merely frowned as he picked up the piece of tissue paper on his bed and wiped his tears sullenly. Then, he threw it to the ground.

“Mother’s not here anymore and there’s no point to argue with you over why she killed herself,” Sophia said, “If you think that you’ll feel better by pushing the blame on me, go ahead, I have nothing to say and I don’t care either.”

“However, remember one thing. I don’t owe you anything and I will never forgive you. As for your opinion and whether you live or die, I’m sorry but I really don’t care.”

Not that she never cared, she just could not be bothered anymore.

Once Sophia finished speaking, she bid farewell to Sterling and Nicole without waiting for his response and left the room.

The smell of the disinfectant everywhere in the hospital made her uneasy.

She turned around. Right at that moment, a doctor and a few nurses were pushing a patient covered with blood all over into the emergency room.

The strong scent of blood reminded her of the day she found her mother, covered with blood as well. Her body stiffened immediately and it took her a long while before she managed to get ahold of herself.

“Soph.” Right then, Nicole came out of the room and gently closed the door behind her.