Leah bit her lip and looked at him, the last gleam of light in her eyes vanished, and was now enshrouded by a layer of shimmering water.
She had always thought that she was different from Sophia. She knew how to adapt to her circumstances and knew when to advance and when to retreat. Sophia was different. She was nothing but a profligate second-generation daughter who knew nothing and considered for no one.
Today, however, she finally learned that she was actually no different from Sophia. When she became a burden, everyone would simply abandon her without hesitation.
Master Lewis ignored her. He raised his voice and asked everybody, "Have all of you learned a lesson from this?"
No one said anything. He then repeated the question a few more times, stopping only after they answered him.
"Grandpa, you claim that I have turned out this way because of a man and even warned everyone about it. What about you? Arenât you also putting your reputation on the line for a woman..."
Before Leah could finish her sentenceâ
Smack!
Master Lewis slapped her across the face. "Don't compare me to you. You don't have a single clue of what Iâm doing!"
He was so angry that his voice broke when he screamed out the last few words.
Everyone remained silent out of fear.
Leah covered her cheek as she stared at him in disbelief, her tears flowing uncontrollably. Master Lewis did not even look at her and left with a frosty look on his face.
"Damned cripple. Just keep your mouth shut if you donât have anything nice to say," Tiffany screamed at her face and chased after Master Lewis while shouting tenderly after him.
Madam Jones' countenance changed at the sight of this. "Is that how you should talk to your grandpa, Leah? We made this decision for the sake of our family. So what if you step down as the chief financial director first?"
"You are not in the company anymore anyway. Your dad, Sterling, and your grandfather are the ones who are in control of the company. Itâs not like the company will fall into someone elseâs hands! Why are you being so insensible today?!"
Mr. Jones stood next to her and tugged at her sleeves, hesitating to speak.
"I'm insensible?" This was the first time Leah had ever fallen out with her family members. She sneered, wiped away her tears, and bolted outside.
They did not understand her!
Nobody understood her!
As it turned out, they were no different from James. Once they realize that a person was of no use anymore, they would then kick that person away without any hesitation! No matter how well she performed in the past, they would still choose to selectively forget!
She would make her family members, as well as Grandpa Harris, regret it. She would make Sophia sorry for setting her up! This was what they owed her!
*
In a Sichuan restaurant, Sophia and Charles were currently having their meal. All of a sudden, they heard a mobile phone vibrating. He glanced at the phone and handed it to her, frowning subtly. "Why are you still keeping in touch with him?"
Collinâs name was displayed in the caller ID.
"I need his help with something," Sophia replied succinctly and took the phone, answering the call. "Hello, Mr. Collin."
"Mm. Okay. Please act according to what we have discussed earlier. Mm... Okay. Thank you. I will transfer the money to your account later."
Sophia hung up the call.
Charles ate in silence as he waited for her to explain it to him. After waiting for quite some time, however, she simply handed the phone back to him and continued eating, having no plans to say a word about it.
"Collin has a good reputation as a detective. Marie told me that there were many girls who wanted a policeman, soldier, or detective as their partner at a young age." Charles put some side dishes food in her bowl.
Sophia stared steadily at him for a while.
Charles looked away and wiped the corners of his mouth with a tissue. "I'm just curious about the things that girls like you are thinking about. I havenât put any thought into it last time. Lovers can better minimize conflicts only when they understand more about each other."
"Oh, I am probably different from other girls. I grew up wanting only to marry a bossy president," Sophia said.
Charles raised his head to look at her.
Sophia's chopsticks moved toward the boiled pork slices, paused for a moment, and put a piece of meat in his bowl. "That bossy president is called Charles."
"I wasn't a president at that time, though." Charles turned over the piece of meat with his chopsticks but did not eat it.
Sophia popped a piece of meat into her mouth. "But you are destined to be one."
She glanced at the sliced meat that he turned over and asked, "Why arenât you eating it? I remember that you like eating this. Donât you like it anymore?"
"This is the first time youâve ever put food in my bowl. I donât have the heart to eat it." Charles' tone remained the same, but there seemed to be a trace of hurt in it.
Sophia pursed her lips and remained silent, putting several more side dishes into his bowl.
That was when Charles stopped torturing the piece of meat and picked it up gracefully. "Why do you need Collinâs help? Does this have something to do with Leah?"
"Mm." Sophia nodded but did not offer further explanations.
Charles asked again, "Let me guess. Does it have something to do with the servant you drove away? Lisa, right?"
Sophia stopped eating and looked at him with a complicated look on her face. She did not answer him this time.
"If this was you in the past, it would be perfectly normal for you to drive Lisa away on impulse. You won't do that now, though. If you drive her away so mercilessly, she will hold a grudge against you and plan out a way to hurt you."
Charles paused, then said slowly, "When things go wrong, there must be something fishy going on."
"...I may not be a match for you and Leah, but I donât think I have ever felt so defeated before." They were so sharp-witted that they could already speculate all her actions when she was just starting out.
People who had such meticulous thoughts were terrifying, admirable, and irritating all at the same time. She was just like a person who had no privacy at all when she was with them.
Charles took her glass and poured her some freshly squeezed orange juice. "You don't need to feel so inferior."
Sophia picked up the juice, waiting for him to continue.
Atrophy of Love: Mr. Harris, Stop Fooling Around!
ï¤Chapter 326 This Is What A Woman Should Do "You managed to set Leah up this time, didnât you? You started by exposing the truth of the car accident, which caused Jones Groupâs stock price to plummet. Then thereâs also the incident this time. You set her up with your pregnancy, unleashing Grandpaâs wrath on her.â
"Sheâs the one who ended up paying White Industries the remaining payment in advance, causing Jones Group to lose the bidding. One after another, this series of events had led the Jones and Lewis families to make the temporary decision to give up on her."
Charles smiled faintly and said, "Sheâs already having a mental breakdown, so she certainly wonât let go of this chance that is Lisa."
He held up the glass of juice, reached out to her, and clinked it with hers. "Come, I wish my baby all the best."
"...Thank you." Sophia was still not used to nicknames like "Honey" or "Baby". She picked up the cup and took a few gulps before she was finally able to lower the temperature on her face.
After dinner, Charles sent her back to the company before driving back to Harris Corporation.
When Sophia entered White Industries, several employees were gossiping as it was not working hours yetâ
"Have you heard? Someone drugged Jeffrey Hoffman when he went out for lunch this afternoon. Then, several rich second generation homosexuals slept with him!"
"Huh? Where did you hear that from? Why havenât I heard about it?"
"I didnât hear it from anyone, really. Someone hacked Jeffreyâs WeChat account, then broadcasted the whole thing with texts and images in his WeChat Moments. Those rich second generations have exposed everything. Jeffrey is aware that someone has pranked him but heâs too afraid to say anything!"