Chapter 88 I Went To Hide In The Toilet For A While ##Yvette was concerned and asked her whether she needed to see a doctor, to which she politely declined. After lunch, the two of them spent more than four hours styling and putting on makeup. When they arrived at Pearl Hotel, it was already seven o'clock in the evening.
The birthday party invitations were sent out under the Harris familyâs name. Everyone was showing them respect as most of them had arrived at this point in time.
Compared to Yvetteâs birthday banquet last time, the guestsâ attitude toward Sophia had changed slightly. Last time, their praises for Sophia sounded deliberate, but this time, their praises contained elements of careful ingratiation.
"Ms. White's dress is absolutely stunning. This design looks a bit familiar to me. Is this Buddy Melvilleâs design? I own a gown that he designed too."
"Youâre both 20 years old, but Ms. White's skin looks so radiant compared to my Ninaâs skin. Nina, come and learn a thing or two about skincare from Ms. White."
Sophia had always felt an intense dislike for the fickleness and hypocrisy of this group of people. Not only in the past, but also in the present. Her familyâs fond indulgence toward her had allowed her to be headstrong and walk away. Now, she had no choice but to go out of her way to curry favor with others.
"Charles is over there. Soph and I will go over and take a look," Yvette smiled and said.
The crowd teased her a little before dispersing.
Yvette handed Sophia a glass of juice and said helplessly, "You must be thirsty from all the talking, right?"
"A little. Thank you, Aunt Harris." Sophia drank from the glass and was still a little thirsty. She was just about to grab another one when she was stopped from doing so.
Yvette snatched the juice from her hand and set it on the table again. "I threw this birthday party especially for you. Itâll be a waste if you keep making trips to the toilet from drinking too much."
Sophia hummed a reply.
"This birthday party will tell others that youâre not an abandoned child. Iâm not asking you to please them. You don't have to entertain everybody."
Yvette had used her son as an excuse earlier. After scanning the place, he was still nowhere to be seen.
Sophia gave a wry smile. "It's better to look down at the ground than to look up at the sky. Just about anyone from the crowd here can make life difficult for me if theyâre mad.â
Yvette patted the back of her hand, sighed, and pulled her toward Charles who just appeared in the crowd.
Charles was currently talking to a good-looking middle-aged man when they approached him. "I will give careful consideration with regards to our companiesâ partnership. Now if youâll excuse me."
The man he was talking to stepped aside like every other guest to make way for him.
Charles made his way through the crowd, walked up to Yvette, and called out to his mom. He paused for a moment and said to Sophia under everyoneâs faintly discernible gaze, "Happy birthday. Iâll give you your present in a moment."
"How thoughtful of you," Yvette smiled and said.
Sophia lowered her head. Her voice was mild, but her hands were clasping her gown. "Thank you, Mr. Harris."
Her actions fell into Yvetteâs eyes as she gently pulled her hands apart and bent over to smoothen out her wrinkled gown.
"Itâs just a task my elders told me to do. You donât need to be so polite," Charles said casually whilst straightening his bow tie.
Sophia pursed her lips and did not utter another word.
"I didn't see you when Soph and I first came in. Where did you go?" Yvette looked back and forth between the two before changing the subject.
A waiter came over, and Charles took a glass of champagne from the tray. After taking a sip, he answered, "There are too many people. I went to hide in the toilet for a while."
"Some of them donât really have the chance to see you on ordinary days, so itâs only natural for them to seize the opportunity today." Yvette chuckled lightly and asked, "Those who were crowding around you earlier were trying to partner up with Harris Corporation?"
Sophia stood next to Yvette and folded her hands in front of her belly, trying her best to play the role of a transparent figure.
"There were also people who tried to marry off their daughters and sisters to me, even offering them as my lover as long as they received money or a project." Charlesâs gaze paused on the scar on Sophia's shoulder. He frowned slightly before taking a sip of champagne.
The corners of Yvette's eyes raised slightly, a hint of irony evident in the depths of her eyes. "They still have some conscience for not sending their wives to take the field."
"They didnât do it because itâs inappropriate to talk about it in public." Charles said, "There were offers made in private."
Both mother and son were quite used to such affairs now. Sophia made nothing of it either.
The so-called upper-class society was nothing more than people who had attained slightly more power, influence, and wealth. They led a more fickle and filthier life than ordinary people.
While the three stood together to talk about others behind their backs, the guests were also gathering in groups of two and three to talk about them.
"Madam Harris invited Sophia to her birthday party, and now, sheâs throwing a birthday party for her... Is she really planning to take in a murderer as her daughter-in-law?"
"Even if Madam Harris agrees, Old Master Harris and Mr. Harris wonât. Sheâs doing this mostly to make Madam Jones uncomfortable."
"I heard that Madam Harris has always been close to Sophia, though. Maybe she really wants Sophia to be her daughter-in-law."
"With the things going on in the Harris family, things will certainly not end well if Mr. Harris marries Sophia. Which one do you think is more important?
Your sonâs future or a younger generation who isnât related to you at all?â
After talking to Charles for a while, Yvette looked around and asked, "I sent the invitation to the Jones and Whites too, but it seems like theyâre not here yet."
"What do you think?" Charles asked rhetorically.
"Theyâre most probably angry." Yvette sniggered. There was a faint smile in her eyes this time. "I haven't seen Madam Humphrey and the rest in ages. I'll go and talk to them for a while. Take Soph with you and walk around."
After a long period of silence, Sophia finally said, "Thereâs no need to trouble Mr. Harris. I can stay here by myself."
"Itâs no trouble at all." Yvette did not give her a chance to decline before turning her head to say to Charles, "Soph has a bad stomach. Donât let her drink anymore this time."
Charles nodded and glanced at Sophia. "Let's go."
Sophia grimaced slightly and looked at Yvette.
"Hurry up and go. You young people have a lot in common to talk about." Yvette pretended not to see the pleading look in her eyes. She summoned the waiter, took a glass of red wine, and left.
Atrophy of Love: Mr. Harris, Stop Fooling Around!
ï¤Chapter 87 Death Could Be A Form Of Liberation For Her Sophia's birthday party could not compare to the scale of Yvette's birthday party, yet even with the crowd and the clash of toasts happening around her, she was not happy at all.
She walked next to Charles, weaving through the crowd and occasionally picking up the thread of conversation directed at her. Her nerves were tense the whole time.
"Yo, it turns out that Ms. Sophia is actually the cleaning lady!" Clad in a pink shirt, Sawyer squinted his fox-like eyes. There was a touch of surprise flashing in the depth of his eyes. He raised his red wine at Sophia. "Iâve been awfully disrespectful!"
His gaze seemed to carry weight as it scraped across Sophia's body, inch by inch. The gaze was frivolous at the same time dissolute and wanton. He then raised his head and drained the red wine in a gulp.
His gaze made Sophia uncomfortable, but she still held up her juice and said, âMr. Phillips."
Having said that, she drank half a glass of juice.
In the past, people in the circle had always claimed that Sawyer was amorous. She had only heard of the rumors. Later, he bumped into her in Dream Club and asked her to strip after exchanging just a few words. It was only then did she finally have a direct understanding of how amorous he was.