âIâll take care of it.â Charles walked to her and planted her kiss on her forehead. âIâm here for you, donât worry.â
The more he acted this way, the more upset Sophia felt. She felt the urge to tell him everything but as soon as the words reached her throat, she swallowed them back down.
âCharles, you do know that I can handle these things without you, right?â Sophia asked.
She did not want him to be the one always solving her problems for her, leaving her unaware of everything that he did. It was this lack of knowledge that made it hard for her to fully trust him.
â... Alright then. Once you have our baby, Iâll discuss everything I do beforehand with you and donât you dare complain that Iâm annoying then.â
Charles poked her nose affectionately before slipping on his coat and left through the door.
Sophia stared on until his car disappeared around the corner and called Sterling.
âWhatâs up, Soph?â Ster answered the phone almost immediately. Sophia could make out bustling sounds from his end of the call that sounded like people arguing.
Just as Sophia was about to reply, someone spoke first in an angry tone. âMr. White, weâre in a meeting here, can you please be a bit more serious?
Are you aware of how much our stock price has dropped? Why are you not taking it...â
âItâs nothing, you should go ahead with what youâre doing first, Ster,â Sophia said.
Sterling was not as immature as before either. âIâm sorry, Iâm kind of in the middle of something here right now. If itâs nothing urgent, I can call you back after the meeting, alright? By the way, remember to come by my office later this afternoon, donât forget that weâre splitting the company shares!â
Sophia mumbled a vague response before hanging up the phone.
Not long after she ended the call, someone knocked on the door.
Who could it possibly be at this time of the day? Did Charles forget something?
Sophia went to the door and glanced at the display screen ââ it was Madam Johnson and Shawn.
Her body immediately stiffened and her fists curled unconsciously.
Back when she was still unclear about the situation, she had invited Madam Johnson into her house. Besides, there were various factors in Momâs death so she could not just blame it on one person.
However... She was still unable to stop herself. She blamed Madam Johnson for what happened. If this last straw had not fallen, Mom might not have committed suicide so soon...
Sophia closed her eyes and calmed herself down as she walked to the sofa and sat down.
âSoph, did you encounter something upsetting? Tell me about it, itâs not good for your health to keep everything bottled up in your heart.â
Her motherâs voice suddenly sounded and she turned around instinctively. She wanted to call out to her mother but all she could see was nothing.
There was no sign of her mother.
If her mother was still alive, would she be able to tolerate her mother? Definitely not.
However, now that her mother was gone, she finally learned how to appreciate what she once found annoying but it was still too late for regrets now.
That was how humans were.
The annoying knocking sound rang again.
Sophia frowned and got up to open the door. âIs there anything, Madam Johnson?â
With no intention of inviting Madam Johnson in, it was clear that Madam Johnson was not welcome in her home.
Madam Johnson looked haggard, and her fox eyes that usually curved upwards were red and swollen today. She opened her mouth several times to talk but no words came out as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Sophia merely stared at Madam Johnson, completely unaffected by this image of her.
In reality, the fact that she did not just slam the door in Madam Johnsonâs face was already taxing her patience.
âWeâre just here to give our condolences about Madam White, whatâs with the attitude?â Shawn said in a displeased tone.
Madam Johnson glared at him. âWhat did I tell you before we came over? Why are you being so loud with Soph? Are you trying to aggravate me?â
âWhy are you so angry? Iâm just trying to stand up for you...â Shawn lowered his head and muttered.
Madam Johnson wore an annoyed look on her face. âYou donât need to do that, but if you raise your voice at Soph again, you can just scram!â
Although Shawn had a sullen expression, he merely grunted as he cast Sophia a look and said nothing more.
âSoph, I heard that your family isnât planning on giving your mother a funeral. Is that true? A person should leave the world properly, donât you think itâs inappropriate to not give her a proper sendoff?â Madam Johnson asked with a frown.
Shawn chimed in harshly, âTheir entire family pushed their own mother to slit her wrists and kill herself, do you think they care whether that woman has a proper sendoff?â
âShut up!â Madam Johnson glared at him and shoved him aside. âGo go go, scram! Youâre just an eyesore here, donât you have better things to do?â
Shawn stumbled after being pushed by his mother all of a sudden and almost fell, but he still kept quiet with a gloomy expression on his face.
Sophia twisted the corner of her sleeves in an attempt to calm herself. âIt was my motherâs wish not to have a funeral and I donât think you need to worry yourself over this. Is there anything else, Madam Johnson?â
Shawn had a miserable look and he looked as if he had something to add on, but he decided to remain silent as Madam Johnson shot him a glare.
âSoph, itâs fine if you donât hold a funeral but do you mind if I ask what are you planning to do with her ashes? Is it alright for me to see her one last time, send her some flowers or something?â Madam Johnson asked with her brows furrowed.
Instead of answering her question, Sophia asked, âMadam Johnson, do you know why doesnât my mom want a funeral?â
âWhy?â Madam Johnson asked.
Sophia felt as if her chest was stuffed full of cotton and every breath she took pained her. âIt because she thinks that her indecisiveness cost her best friendâs life and sheâs too embarrassed to face her.â
âBesides, thereâs nobody else in this world that she wants to see anymore aside from me and my brother.â
Madam Johnson was shocked at Sophiaâs response. After being stunned for a second, she raised her voice and responded, âThatâs impossible!
Jenny and I have been friends for over ten years now, why wouldnât she want to see me after sheâs dead? Donât simply speak on your motherâs behalf, thereâs no way she wouldnât want to see me!â
This was the same reaction as James when he was told that Jenny did not want to see him.
âExcuse me, please give me a moment.â Sophia headed upstairs to get Jennyâs suicide note and came back to hand it to Madam Johnson. âIf you donât believe me, you can take a look at it yourself.â
Jenny accepted the note with a trembling hand and a suspicious heart, and she slowly unfolded the piece of paper.
Atrophy of Love: Mr. Harris, Stop Fooling Around!
ï¤Chapter 366 Her Brother Was Calling?
Sophia continued, âAlthough my mother did not explicitly say that she doesnât want to see you, she mentioned several times that both of you arenât on the same path in life anymore and she shouldnât have befriended someone like you. Now that she has passed away, you...â
âThatâs impossible!â Madam Johnson's eyes reddened as she staggered backward. Judging from the hysterical look on her face, she looked as if she was about to tear the note up.
Sophiaâs eyes immediately widened and rushed forward to snatch the note back. âWhat are you trying to do?â she shouted fiercely.
This suicide note was the only thing her mother had left!
âThis suicide note must be fake!â With tears streaming down her face, Madam Johnson shrieked heartbreakingly, âYou know how soft your mother was! Back in the days, I was always the one getting even for her and protecting her whenever someone bullied her!â
âEven when she told me that she liked Mr. White and didnât have the courage to confess her feelings, I was the one who helped her! I helped her so many times in the past and I treated her like my very best friend! How could she speak of me this way because of Hellen?!â
She really could not understand. Both her and Hellen were Jennyâs friends but why had Jenny always sided with Hellen more?
She always had Jenny first in her mind and never allowed Jenny to be wronged by anyone else, but at the end of the day, this was how Jenny treated her in return?