Atrophy of Love: Mr. Harris, Stop Fooling Around! novel Chapter 147

Jenny looked at the door with tears in her eyes. She moved to give chase, but she was stopped in her tracks by a stormy-looking Sterling, who called out to her, "If you don't want to see your daughter in the ER again because you pissed her off, stay right here!"

"Sterling, do you also think it's my… my fault?" Jenny sobbed, distraught. She dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.

Sterling turned his head away and refused to look at her. His uninjured hand tapped away at the bed, his expression dark and irritated.

Jenny did not ask any further. She just stumbled to Sophia's bed and fell onto it, sitting there as her sobs grew louder.

As soon as Sophia went out, she saw Charles and James standing not too far from the door. She gave them a cold look and then pulled her gaze back, walking toward the staircase on the eastern end of the corridor.

"Why did you come out without your shoes?" Charles approached her and grabbed her by the arm, a mysterious gleam in his eyes as he stared at her bare feet.

Sophia turned her head and gave him a dark look before forcefully breaking free from his grip.

"Mr. Harris is talking to you. Why aren't you responding? Are you deaf?" James grew angry again the moment he saw Sophia, so he immediately roared at her.

Sophia chuckled coldly and said with a sneer, "Whether I reply to Mr. Harris or not, what does it have to do with you? Who are you to tell me off, mister?"

"You— You insolent brat!" James was so mad that he panted, pressing his hand against his chest tightly. His face was completely red from lack of breath.

"Ha!" Sophia smiled sardonically. "I don't have a father as dishonest and two-faced as you. Don't go calling anyone your daughter! Also, I advise you to keep a hold on your emotions. If your heart acts up, no one is going to give you any medicine!"

The entire time, she did not even look at Charles beside her, acting as though he was completely invisible.

"You— You—" James looked at Sophia with a darkness in his eyes, as though he would stop breathing the very next second.

Sophia turned her nose up at him coolly, turned, and walked away.

"Put on your shoes before you go out." Charles frowned imperceptibly and strode past her in an instant, blocking her way.

James was holding his heart next to them. Charles's voice was so much gentler than before that James could not help but look between Charles and Sophia, his expression shifting and thoughtful.

Sophia looked up at Charles, clenching her hands tightly into fists and staring daggers at him. "What's the matter? Do you insist on dictating my footwear now too, Mr. Harris?"

The fury and resentment she had pent up over the past two years was surging through her veins, drowning out her usual logic.

Her voice suddenly rose in volume and pitch, becoming almost a shriek, "You want to see me humiliated, you want to see me suffer, you want to see me beg for the sweet release of death, don't you?! I'm suffering right now, right in front of your eyes. So what more do you want?!"

"Sophia." Charles's eyes reflected her vicious expression. He could not tell what that sensation in his heart was. Pain? Sorrow? Or something else?

Sophia scoffed loudly. "If you have so much concern to spare, spend it on the woman you love. I don't need it, and I can't afford to take it!

"You don't have to warn or threaten me. I'm selfish, self-absorbed, and cruel, right? If you really force my hand, I'll just die! Who cares what happens to everyone else!!"

She put her hand to her mouth and coughed once. Without giving him another look, she left him behind, her expression dark and stormy.

Charles looked at her skinny back. He lifted his right foot to go after her, but eventually he forced himself to put it right back down again. He did not chase after her, but the shadows in his eyes deepened.

"I'll bring Soph her shoes soon, Mr. Harris. Thank you for your concern." Nicole caught up to them by now, and she said carefully, "Soph just got into a big fight with our mom, so her temper's still boiling over. Please forgive her if she said anything rude to you."