Chapter 73

Sophia pressed her lips together and did not say a word. If she said yes, Aunt Lewis would trouble her even more, but if she said no, Aunt Lewis would pin this on Sterling. With a wolf ahead and a tiger behind her, she stubbornly stayed silently.

“Leah is kind. She never sued you even though you nearly killed you. She only made you go to jail for two years, yet you keep wanting to hurt her!”

Madam Jones walked over to the edge of the hospital bed and jabbed Sophia’s forehead hard with her carefully-manicured hand. “Has your good heart been eaten by a dog?”

A good patch of Sophia’s forehead instantly reddened, but she did not struggle.

Seeing this, William’s eyebrows furrowed tightly. He subconsciously stepped forward but quickly stepped back, turning his head away and not looking at them anymore.

“This is Aunt Lewis’ manners?” Right at that moment, Charles pushed open the door and walked in after having finished his call.

Seeing him come in, shock flashed through Madam Jones’ eyes. Her gaze went from him to Yvette, carrying a wave of faint anger. “Yvette, you came here with Charles after your meal?”

“Charles, why did you come so late?” Yvette looked shocked too.

Charles’ expression did not shift. “I came here after finishing work at my office.” He swept a glance over Sophia’s obviously unusually red forehead.

“Are you stupid? Don’t know how to dodge?”

“I’m not stupid.” However, there had been no way for her to dodge.

No matter how greatly Leah hurt her, she could at least claim it was an “accident’, but Sterling had brazenly thrown the tea at Leah, so she could not “rationalize’ it.

Charles hummed vaguely and averted his gaze.

“As they speak among themselves, you do your own thing. If you don’t drink your chicken soup soon, it’ll be cold.” Yvette filled another small bowl of chicken soup and put it in Sophia’s hands.

Sophia thanked her and sipped on it.

The black chicken soup was fresh and its fragrance was strong, but she found it tasteless. If it was possible, she had hoped the people who came to take care of her in the hospital and defended her in front of outsiders were her mom and dad, not Aunt Harris.

“You’re on Sophia’s side like your mother?” Madam Jones’ voice sounded a little sharp as it was excessively elevated. “Leah got her leg hurt by Sophia because of you. Did you forget?”

Charles sat on the chair at the side and breezily dodged her question. “I think even junior high students won’t say childish things like who’s on whose side anymore.”

“Have you never learned respect for your elders, Mr. Harris?” William’s amber eyes darkened.

Charles’ lips tugged. “Does Aunt Lewis not know how to love the younger generation?”

The hospital ward was very spacious, but the back-and-forth showdown between the few of them made Sophia feel that the space was so cramped that even the air had become sticky. Every breath was unusually difficult.

“Alright. There’s still a patient here. What are you all doing?” Yvette sighed helplessly, then swept a glance over William and Madam Jones’ empty hands. “Did you and William not come to see Soph, Lew?”

Without waiting for a reply from either of them, she continued, “Probably not since nobody visits a patient with empty hands.”

“We came only to seek justice for Leah,” William said, one step ahead of Madam Jones. “Sterling hurt Leah out of nowhere. My mom and I want to know if this was his original personality or if he was being used by a bad person.”

When he said “a bad person’, he looked at Sophia.

“Was it really out of nowhere? Why do I see that Soph’s injuries are more severe than Leah’s?” Yvette tsked. “Just looking at the wound on Soph’s leg makes me feel as if I’m in pain.”

Hearing this, Madam Jones’ anger overflowed, and she berated, “Are you doubting our words?”

“No such thing. I was just curious, so I asked. Don’t misunderstand.” Yvette smiled helplessly. “I heard Lead accidentally spilled hot water on Sophia.

An entire teapot, in fact. She really wasn’t careful enough.”

Just as she finished speaking, William’s phone rang. He answered the phone and made two noncommittal sounds with his brows furrowed. Then, he turned his head and said to Madam Jones, “Leah says not to blame Sterling and Sophia especially since she accidentally hurt Sophia. She asked us to apologize to Sophia and go home.”

Yvette chuckled. She was not sure who was meant to listen to these words.

“They’ve already dragged her into their sh*t, yet she’s still speaking for them!” Madam Jones was disappointed. She turned to Charles, pointed at him, and said, “Charles, I’ll only ask you once. Sterling and Sophia have hurt Leah so badly, so why do you want to drop the lawsuit?”

Drop the lawsuit? Sophia heaved a sigh of relief. She had already been through prison. If her brother also went to prison, even if it were just for a few days, she did not know how others would talk about the Whites.

Charlies smiled. “Sterling destroyed my club, so the Whites gave me that piece of land in G City as compensation. Sterling burned the back of Leah’s hand, but Leah burned Sophia’s entire leg. Whether or not she intended to, both sides are even. Why can’t I drop the lawsuit?”

He revealed all the good and the bad. Madam Jones was momentarily speechless.

“Mr. Jones is a fair man who speaks the truth frankly. I’m not sure how you see it, Mr. Jones?” Charles’ gaze fell on William.

William wrinkled his eyebrows slightly and slid a glance at the bandages on Sophia’s leg before saying to Madam Jones, “Mom, let’s go.”

“How can even you stand on Sophia’s side?!” Madam Jones was furious. Her exquisite makeup could not cover the shade of green on her face.

William said, “It was Leah who burned Sophia’s leg first, so Sterling spilled water on her. We can’t blame Sterling and Sophia for this.”

Madam Jones pointed a finger at his nose, so angry that she could not say a word for a long while. Then, she glared at Sophia before huffily exiting, slamming the door so hard that the room shook.

“Goodbye for now.” William looked at Sophia’s pale face. He wanted to say something but did not in the end. He pulled the door open and left.

Yvette stared at the door that was shut tight and lamented, “That Lew birthing such an excellent son and daughter is such good fortune.”

“She probably used up all the good fortune she accumulated in her past life.” Charles scoffed lightly, the ends of his eyes showing a touch of sarcasm.

Yvette laughingly scolded him, then she said, “You as someone from a younger generation should act like one. Don’t pick fights with your elders.”

Charles’ lips twitched, and he did not speak.

“With so many people here, it was so noisy that you couldn’t rest. Alright, then. It’s late now. I’ll go back with Charles and come back to see you another day,” Yvette said as she got up.

Sophia was about to get up to walk her out, but she was stopped by Yvette. “The drip is still being administered, and your leg is wounded. Don’t blindly aggravate yourself. We’re not some outsiders anyway.”

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

Chapter 72 People Have To Grow Up Sometime Yvette only left after giving a few more orders to Sophia.

The night sky was a blur, and greenery could be seen from the car windows. They cast branching shadows over Charles’ angular, handsome face.

“For tonight, I thank you on Soph’s behalf.” Yvette sat beside him, the corners of her mouth tilted upward slightly. She looked to be in a good mood.

“I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood.”

The Bentley started moving, and the trees’ shadows moved over Charles’ face like a film, covering the expression beneath his eyes. “Me dropping the lawsuit has nothing to do with Sophia.”

Yvette raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Comparing the Dream Club’s loss versus the land in that new planning area in G City, it’s not worth a mention. There’s no way I’ll give up such a large slice of cake for Leah,” said Charles.