The little boy flashed Sophia a bright smile and spread his two small arms out. As soon as his mom crouched down, he was lifted from the ground.
Eh?
The little boy was stunned for a moment and turned around, only to see his father's expressionless handsome face. "Daddy?"
"You're not a three-year-old kid anymore, you can walk yourself." Charles yanked his shirt collar from behind and settled him on the ground once again.
Christopher, "..."
Sophia's successful operation was indeed something worth celebrating. Around noontime, Sophia invited Sterling and his family, as well as Clara and Zachary out for lunch.
On the way to the hotel, Sophia could hear people around them whispering under their breaths
"Wow, they're such a good-looking family! Are they celebrities?"
"How could you not know who they are? That's the chairman of Harris Corporation, Charles Harris, and those are his wife and son."
"Well, I remember his wife was disfigured..."
"Hadn't Harris Corporation been investing in facial reconstruction projects the past few years? It's all because he was trying to find treatment methods for his wife. I heard they only got a breakthrough recently so she must have just recovered."
"Even a handsome man like him could be so loyal to a woman like her, I'm so jealous of Sophia!"
Sophia could not help but smile as she listened to their discussion, and her grip around Charles's hand tightened a little more.
"What is it?" Charles turned to look at her.
Sophia quickly checked their surroundings, and once that she confirmed that nobody else was looking their way, she cupped his face and pecked him on the lips. "I'm just happy."
Just as she was about to move away, Charles grabbed her by the waist and tightened his grip, pulling her closer to him so that their bodies were pressed together.
His eyes darkened and he gulped as he lowered his head to kiss her.
Sophia blinked a few times before she smiled and closed her eyes- "Mommy, I want a kiss too!"
A childish, grumpy voice sounded and Sophia was immediately pulled back into reality. Her face flushed red and she quickly pushed Charles away.
She had forgotten that their son was with them...
Charles furrowed his brows, clearly upset for being pushed away so suddenly. He looked down at his little boy who was frowning back at him and raised a brow. "You want a kiss?"
The little boy nodded nervously.
Why did Daddy look so scary, oh no...
Charles gently snorted. "Why should I let you kiss my wife?"
Sophia, "..."
She gently tugged on his shirt. Why was this man getting so childish, how could he compare himself with a child!
"She's my mommy!" The little boy pouted and gave them both puppy eyes.
Charles pulled Sophia into his arms and looked down at his son. "She's my wife so she can only kiss me, just like you can't go around kissing other people's wives."
The little boy's eyes widened as the look of confusion on his face deepened.
The staff at the front desk could not help but overhear this little interaction between the family.
Sophia felt even more embarrassed when she noticed them giggling at them, and she gave a dry cough. "Alright, they should be here now. Come on, let's go."
She held Charles' hand in one hand and reached for her son's hand with the other.
Charles nodded. "Let me switch places with you."
"What's wrong?" Sophia asked as she moved away.
Charles stood in between the two of them and casually said, "I'm the only man who can hold my wife's hand, I can't let other men touch her."
Now that Christopher could not hold his mother's hand, and with Charles standing in between them, he could not even see her, and so he pouted even more. He was so frustrated he was close to bursting into tears.
"Silly boy," Charles smirked and carried his son before plopping him down on his shoulders.
Still angry at him, the little boy ignored him and ruffled up his hair, making it look as messy as possible. Then, he stretched out his free hand to hold his mother's hand.
"Don't pull your dad's hair like that, it'll hurt," Sophia said.
Although Charles' face seemed cold as usual, there was a glimmer of a smile in his eyes. "It's fine."
The restaurant manager led them to the room that they had specially reserved, where Clara and Zachary were already waiting for them.
Six years had passed by, but Clara still looked the same. Her face was still as childish as before, and if you looked past the pregnant belly and the pregnancy weight, she could still pass off as a high school teenager.
As Sophia walked into the room, she could hear Clara grumbling to Zachary, "I told you I didn't want kids but no, you insist on having kids. Look now, he's always kicking me in my stomach! It's all your fault, I blame you for all of this!"
"Alright, alright, you can blame me all you want. Don't be angry now, it's not good for the baby." Zachary pushed the plate of garlic bread in front of her.
He had always pampered her like a child, but now, he literally pampered her like a
pet.
Clara was just about to continue venting when she turned around and saw Sophia. She immediately leaped up in excitement. "Sophia!!!!"
"Calm down, have you forgotten that you're pregnant!" Zachary stood up behind her
anxiously.
However, he was not able to stop Clara, who was like a butterfly that had been freed from a cage that fluttered toward Sophia. From the looks of it, she might actually
jump on Sophia.
If she did, the two of them would probably fall to the ground together. Fortunately. Charles stepped forward and yanked Clara by her blouse and pulled
her aside.
Clara did not seem to mind it either. She stretched out her hands to pinch Sophia's face. "Wow, it's really you. You recovered so well that I can barely see the scars on
your face anymore!"
Her eyes were bright and sparkly as she nudged closer, still pinching Sophia's face. "Do you think I can get surgery to look younger when I'm older?"
Clara was leaning in so close that their faces were almost touching, and Charles immediately frowned at the close contact. His arm buckled around Sophia's waist and he pulled her backward. "Dream on."
"You can't do that, the world would be a mess if everyone does that," Sophia said.
Clara mumbled a response and began rambling about how it would be a pity, how happy she was for Sophia, and a bunch of congratulatory words. Meanwhile, Zachary stood close beside her as he stared intently at her stomach, worried that she might accidentally bump herself.
Not long after, Sterling and Nicole arrived with their twins.
Christopher loved playing with his cousins. The room instantly livened up with the three children and Clara.
Sterling and Nicole gathered around Sophia, and seeing Sophia's recovered face,
they could not help but feel relieved and happy.
Just as the room could not get any more boisterous, Charles' phone began buzzing.
He looked at the caller ID and left the room with his phone in hand.
"Hi, Mom."
"Hello. Your dad has been messing around with so many women outside that he contracted AIDS and got scammed out of money as well.
Your Aunt Lewis tried to have his
baby to make him stay but contracted AIDS as well. If you, Soph, and Christopher see either one of them in the future, just stay as far away as possible."
Charles pursed his lips. "Mom, it has been six years, it's time to move on now. When
will you be coming back?"
"It's Christopher's birthday soon, I'll be back then. Can you tell Christopher that I'll
give him a call tonight at seven?"
The two continued chatting for a while before they ended the call. Charles stood
outside the room for a moment to recollect himself before entering the room again. Sophia immediately noticed that something did not look right and sat next to him and asked, "Was that Mom?"
"Yeah. She told me that Dad and
Aunt Lewis contracted AIDS and asked us to stay as far away as possible.
AIDS was not exactly net
scary disease, you just had to be
careful if you come into contact with
a patient. Content belongs to
However, it would be dangerous if they were two unkind, borderline crazy patients.
Sophia nodded. She did not know if this was retribution exactly, but no matter what, the man was still Charles' father, and so she did not say anything.
The group finally ordered their food, and not long after, someone knocked on the
door.
Sophia went over to open the door, only to see that instead of their waiter, it was Marie, whom she had not seen over half a month.
"Hey, you're recovering quite well! Congratulations." Marie raised a brow when she saw Sophia and gently caressed her cheek.
Charles' eyes darkened as he quietly stood in between them.
"Mr. Harris, how can you be jealous of a woman?" Marie leaned on the wall and
reached into her pocket for a cigarette, and when she came up empty, she let out a
curse.
Fredrick was such a nosy busybody, how could he take away all her cigarettes! "What are you doing here?" Charles asked softly.
Marie froze for a moment before a smile returned to her face. "I just happened to see Mr. Harris and your
family entering the room so I wanted to see if I could join. Since Sophia is
also done with her surgery, why don't you let me join the celebratory meal?"
She sauntered into the room as she talked.
However, as soon as she passed the door, Charles stopped her. "You best speak the truth or I'm making you leave."
"Mr. Harris, you're a very mean man." Marie heaved a sigh.
Charles did not move at all.
Did something happen between the two of them? Sophia casually sized Marie up,
feeling curious. Seeing that the two of them were still blocking her way, Marie lost her temper as her face flushed red in annoyance. "Fredrickson is trying to propose, I just need somewhere to hide!"
At that moment, Fredrickson's voice sounded not far away and she could no longer
remain calm. She scooted lower and scurried into the room through both Charles
and Sophia.
However, just as she thought she had succeeded, she heard her superior saying,
"Fred, she's here." Marie, "..."
D*mn it!
She did not even have time to sit as she grabbed the corner of her skirt and fled the
room.
Sophia watched as Fredrickson ran past them and poked Charles in the rib. "Hey,
Ms. Marie is one of your best staff no matter what. How can you betray her like
that?"
"We're here today to celebrate you." He did not want them to be disturbed. Charles gave her a small smile and moved in to plant a kiss on her forehead.
Time stayed still and all was peaceful for a brief second when "Zach... Zachary, I think... I think my water just broke!" Clara's quivering voice broke across the room and everything instantly fell into
chaos.
Life goes on no matter what, and it doesn't end until you're six feet under.
(The End)
Atrophy of Love: Mr. Harris, Stop Fooling Around!
Chapter 495 Sophia & Charles' Spin-off 1