Atrophy of Love: Mr. Harris, Stop Fooling Around! novel Chapter 143

“Okay,” Leah said before turning to the waiter. “That’s all for now. I’ll ask if we want to add anything else, thanks.”

“No need to be so polite. Your food will be here soon,” the waiter said before leaving the table.

Charles crossed his long legs and tilted his body forward, making it clear that he did not intend to stay for long.

“I heard someone mention that this Japanese restaurant is pretty good, but I’ve never eaten here before.” Even in a wheelchair, Leah was stunningly graceful. “You came inside as soon as you saw this place, Charles. Have you eaten here before?”

Charles looked up at her and tugged at his lips. “No. This place just happens to be closest, so I thought we could save some time.”

“You must be busy with work, then. You have to take care of yourself, Charles.” Leah’s hands clenched slightly on her lap and she said with a smile, “Work is definitely important, but it isn’t as important as your health.”

Charles laughed. “I’m not that busy with work, either. I just don’t want to spend too long on some things. It’s a waste of time and annoying to boot. Not worth it.”

Leah curved her lips, a gleam in her eyes but darkness deep within. This time, she finally said nothing.

Not long later, the waiter brought the food Leah had ordered earlier.

“The sashimi is very fresh. Try some, Charles.” Leah used the shared chopsticks to pick up a slice of sashimi, placing it onto the plate in front of Charles.

Charles glanced at the sashimi and then pulled his gaze back. He did not move or say anything.

Leah quietly ate some food before she took out a paper napkin and dabbed at the corners of her mouth. “I heard that it went south for Sophia starting one or two in the morning. Did you stay up all night because of her? Is that why you have eye bags, Charles?”

“I did stay up all night.” Charles uncrossed his legs and crossed them again. “But not only because of her.”

Something gleamed in Leah’s eyes, and there was a flash of shadow across her face. With a smile, she asked, “Was there something else you had to stay up all night for aside from Sophia?”

“Ha.” Charles scoffed coldly. “What else do you want to know? How many meals I have every day? What I eat? How many times I use the washroom?”

“I’m just concerned about you, Charles. That’s all. If you don’t like me asking about these things, then I won’t.” Leah laughed self-deprecatingly and said, “Actually, I’m here to ask you about mt maternal grandfather.”

Charles put his elbows on the table, raising the corners of his eyes. “Oh?”

“You… heard about what happened to my grandfather, right?” It was not a good thing at all, so Leah’s eyelids were slightly lowered. Her expression seemed unchanged, but her delicate little earlobes were completely red.

Charles tapped the table lightly with his fingertips. “I haven’t heard. I don’t have as many friends as you do, so unlike you, I can’t get all the gossip and stalk people with such minimal effort.”

Leah’s face turned instantly scarlet. She actually looked extremely awkward for once, putting a piece of sashimi into her mouth with her chopsticks. It took half a minute before her complexion went back to normal.

She swallowed the food in her mouth and continued, “That incident with my grandfather blew up, and it’s related to Dream Club too. Are you sure you don’t know about it, Charles?”

“Dream Club is just one of the tiniest companies under Harris Corporation. Of course I wouldn’t be involved in every little thing that happens there,” said Charles.

Three waiters approached their table, serving them the shrimp and sushi. They then informed the customers that the food was all here now before silently retreating.

The maid sat next to Leah stiffly. She had barely understood what was going on in their conversations before this, and now that both of them had fallen quiet, she felt even more awkward and uneasy in the middle.

She stood up and walked until she was behind Leah. That made her feel slightly better, but she was still smack within Charles’ line of sight, so maybe it was not that much better, after all.

The two of them faced off without a word for a while until finally Leah broke the silence. “The Lewises put a lot of importance on blood relations. It doesn’t matter how Ms. Tiffany Lawrence ended up pregnant with my grandfather’s child, and that makes her baby part of our family. I hope you’ll be so kind as to let us take her with us.”

“You want Tiffany Lawrence? Sure,” said Charles. “On one condition. While I’m getting Sophia’s leg treated, I don’t want you messing about with the process.”

Leah was stunned. With a bitter tone, she said, “Debts are meant to be paid, no? Isn’t that only normal?”

She looked down at her legs. “Two years ago, Sophia White tried and failed to kill me, but she did break one of my legs. And now you’re saying you want to fix hers? Isn’t that far too unfair to me?”

The maid had been with Leah for many years now too, and she was equally as furious to hear that. “Mr. Harris, the Harrises and Joneses are on great terms, so how could you do something like that for a murderer? It’s too much.”

“I already told you many times. Both of us know exactly what happened back then, who was right and who was wrong.” Charles pursed his lips and said. “Besides, you’ll be back on your feet soon enough. You’ll be able to walk just like a normal person.”

He wanted to use her own tricks against her by recording her own words as evidence, but she was very careful with what she said, and she never once explicitly admitted that she was the one behind the accident back then.

“But I’ll never be able to dance again!” Leah finally let her smile fade, saying solemnly, “Sorry, Charles, but no matter how generous I am, I still can’t stand by as Sophia gets her leg treated.”