The waiter agreed to her request immediately. They were also thoughtful enough to wipe the table and chair several times for Audrey, the customer with a âsevere case of mysophobiaâ.
Leah maneuvered her wheelchair to the table where Sophia and the rest were sitting, then curved her lips and asked, "Charles, do you mind if we combine tables?â
Charles did not say a word but turned to look at Zachary instead.
âIâm sorry, Ms. Jones." Zachary pushed his glasses and said with a smile, "I am the host today. Iâm not a fan of eating with strangers."
Leah was not upset either. She said softly, "I have been too presumptuous on my part. It wonât be appropriate for me to force you if you donât like to eat with people youâre unfamiliar with, Mr. Johnson. But since weâve met each other now, you wouldn't mind making a new friend, would you, Mr.
Johnson?"
"Zachary." Zachary reached out to Leah, seemingly suggestive. "I have long heard of your great name, Ms. Jones."
Leah smiled and shook his hand. "Leah. Youâre pretty famous yourself, Mr. Johnson. Itâs a shame that weâre only meeting each other right now."
Clara gave a hard stare at their interconnected hands and harrumphed with a grumpy look on her face. She then lowered her head and started flipping through the menu.
Meanwhile, William sat down next to their table and stared fixedly at Sophia with his seemingly tangible gaze.
Sophia did not seem to have noticed it. When the waiter served all 12 garlic scallops, she stood up and âthoughtfullyâ served Charles, Zachary, and Clara with two garlic scallops each.
She took a bite first, then looked at Charles and said, "The scallops taste really good, especially with the garlic drenched on top. It tastes great. Why donât you try it, Mr. Harris?"
Clara gulped. She picked up the scallop and took a bite before nodding repeatedly, her eyes sparkling.
Charles glanced at the scallop, picked it up, and took a bite as well. There were no changes in his expression. "Mm. Itâs alright."
In an elegant but swift manner, he swallowed the scallop before picking up another scallop and popped it into his mouth with a natural look on his face.
Sophia's eyes flashed with astonishment at the sight of his reaction. The scallop in her mouth suddenly tasted bland and insipid.
William was constantly watching her. When he saw how she repeatedly ingratiated herself with Charles, his thin lips tightened into a line. His amber eyes turned abnormally profound with fury.
"You can keep staring, but she still wonât be yours." Audrey's face looked awfully grim. "You have pursued her for so many years yet she still hasnât fallen for you. Are you still being delusional thinking that she will suddenly fall for you?"
Her voice was not exactly loud yet it was not exactly soft either. Nevertheless, the next table could definitely hear her.
Sophia lowered her head and ate her scallops, acting as though she did not hear her. Charles' eyes darkened as he glanced at William whilst keeping his countenance. He was eating the scallops slower now.
After getting touched in the sore spot by Audreyâs words, William withdrew his gaze. His face was livid.
"Audrey, do you think itâs okay if I order these things?" Leah turned to look at Audrey and whispered, "Do you want to add a few more things?"
Audrey did not take the lead tossed by Leah to help her back out of this predicament. With a vague smile hanging on her lips, she said, "Thereâs no need to add anything. Why eat when Iâm already stuffed with anger?!"
"Whoa, Sophia. The grilled honey chicken wings are absolutely delish. Try it!" Clara took a bite of the chicken wings and her eyes were instantly sparkling with bright stars. She handed a chicken wing to Sophia like she was presenting her with a treasure.
Sophia took a bite. It was sweet yet not greasy. Furthermore, the meat inside the chicken was tender. It was grilled really well indeed. "Mm. It's pretty delicious."
Charles glanced at her glowing red lips after they were stained with grease, and his Adamâs apple rolled a little. He grabbed a grilled honey chicken wing for himself.
"How can someone still have the cheek to show herself after getting thrown out by the man she failed to seduce? Is she shameless or what?â Audrey was so infuriated that she could hardly eat her food. Sophia, on the other hand, was tucking in with gusto instead. Not only that, her fiancé whom she had just gotten engaged to was constantly thinking of Sophia. This upset her tremendously.
Sophia's expression sank immediately. She clenched her fists, put down her chicken wing, and stifled the anger in her heart without making a sound.
"No one will mistake you for a dumb if you keep your mouth shut!" William frowned and reprimanded Audrey.
Audrey sneered and said sarcastically, "Are you upset because I criticized your crush? She would rather pick someone who breaks her leg and throws her out naked than to accept you. Why donât you just give up!"
William applied some force and the menu was scrunched into a ball in his hands. He lowered his head without a word and clenched his fists. The blue veins on his neck were throbbing, making him look a tad sinister.
âBreaks her legsâ, âThrows her out nakedâ, âThrows her out nakedâ, âBreaks her legsâ... These two sentences played in Sophia's mind like a loop. She pursed her lips, her body trembling slightly.
"What's wrong, Sophia?" Clara was dumbfounded.
Sophia ignored her and sprung up from her seat as she scraped the chair across the floor. She was holding a plate in her hand with a terrifyingly grim look on her face.
How bad could it get if she offended one of the Sommer family members?
She was not even afraid of death now!
"The Sommer family must have received one hell of an education to be judging others in public like that.â Before Sophia could knock the plate on Audrey's head, Charles stood up and placed his hand on her shoulder, pressing her back into her seat.
Audrey was surprised to see Charles standing up. She wrinkled her brows, and her expression changed unpredictably. "I was anxious so I didn't pay any attention to what I just said. Please forgive me if Iâve offended you in any way, Mr. Harris."
"What if I don't want to forgive you?" Charles chuckled, but his smile did not reach his eyes.
Audrey was taken aback slightly, looking exceptionally embarrassed. Under normal circumstances, none of them would embarrass each other blatantly as they would still see each other often.
William frowned and stood up, suppressing the frenzied rage that was gushing in the depth of his eyes. "Youâre a man, Mr. Harris. Thereâs no need to embarrass a woman like that."
"Iâm sorry, I donât have straight man cancer like you, Mr. Jones." Charles looked at William and Audrey with slightly darkened eyes. "Men and women are equal to me. I donât discriminate.â
Clara poked Sophia in secret and whispered in her ears, "Is Big Iceberg sticking up for you? He looks so much more handsome now and isnât as annoying anymore."
Sophia did not answer. She raised her head to glance at Charles, put her plate down, and continued to gnaw on the chicken wing in her hand.
Leah let out a soft sigh and said to Audrey, "Audrey, Charles broke Sophia's leg because Sophia broke mine."
Atrophy of Love: Mr. Harris, Stop Fooling Around!
ï¤Chapter 122 I Wasnât Trying To Protect You She glanced at Sophia sympathetically. "He threw Sophia out naked after that because Sterling drugged him and Sophia tried to take the advantage to seduce him. He had no choice but to do so. From what you were saying earlier, you have turned Charles from a victim to an abuser. How can he not be angry?"
William sat down again, his expression changing unpredictably. Rage, impulse, heartache, and guilt took turns to occupy his heart.
Due to the large number of people at these two tables as well as their seemingly wealthy and respectable appearance, the manager assigned several waiters here to wait for orders.
After hearing what Leah said, all of them turned to look at Sophia, their eyes filled with aversion.