Chapter 290 She’s Suffering From A Depression Relapse

As Charles expected, Master Harris was very unhappy with the way the Jones family did things, hence he arranged for someone to expose several scandals related to Jones Group. It was not until Master Jones came forward to seek reconciliation and promised him certain benefits, did he finally renew friendly relations with the Jones family again. —In the face of absolute interests, there were no eternal enemies nor pure friends. Sophia played the role of a patient in the hospital for several days before returning to the White residence with Charles, during which Leah had remained silent as though she had given up on struggling. Everything seemed to be moving in the right direction. Sterling was extremely upset to learn that Charles was coming to the White residence too. The cast on his body had been removed, hence he rolled up his sleeves and planned to fight Charles but was dragged away by Nicole in the end. "Stop messing things up, Sterling. Charles was being coerced into doing those things back then. You can't blame him!" James snapped. Sterling harrumphed heavily, saying to Charles, "What kind of man can’t even protect his own woman!" "I’m grateful that you’re willing to leave Sophia in my hands, Brother. I will take good care of her in the future," Charles vowed solemnly, taking Sophia’s hand. "F*ck, why are you calling me your brother? Who is your brother? Why are you so shameless!" Sterling's eyes widened bit by bit, looking like a cat whose tail was stepped on. "Also, when did I say that I am willing to leave Sophia in your hands? F*cking bullsh*t!" He was so upset that he started hurling profanities and had not even noticed it when Nicole glowered at him. "You said ‘own woman’. Were you not admitting that Sophia is my woman, Brother?" Charles tugged at the corner of his lower lip, stressing the form of address at the end. The hair on Sterling's body stood up, looking so p*ssed off and mad that he could not even speak a word for a very long time. His good-looking face was flushed. "..." Sophia pursed her lips and whispered, "Stop teasing Sterling." Charles squeezed her hand and said nonchalantly, "I'm just trying to form a good relationship with my older brother-in-law." Sterling looked very twitchy, even his eyeballs were about to fall out of his sockets from glaring too hard. He stepped forward with a livid look on his face and wedged himself between them, squeezing Charles to the back. "...Sterling still holds a grudge against you for what you did back then, Mr. Harris. He is just a one-track-minded man. Don't take him too seriously." Nicole walked next to him and cleared up her husband’s mess like she always did. Charles’ gaze followed Sophia the entire time. After hearing what she said, he simply replied mildly, "Just call me Charles, Nicole. You don't have to be so polite. As for Sterling, he’s only doing that because he cares for Sophia. I’m very happy." Nicole flashed a complicated smile when she heard him addressing her as Nicole. She could somewhat relate to Sterling’s feelings now. In order to get rid of Charles who was always getting on his nerves, Sterling deliberately sped up his pace and led Sophia into the room she used to stay in. The room looked exactly the same as when she left two years ago. The other gown that she had abandoned and tossed on the bed for her birthday banquet was still lying there, looking as though she was never away. "Back then, Mom kept blaming you for hurting Leah and had even beaten you because of Dad. Despite that, she has always hoped for you to come home. After you left, Mom cleaned up your room every day by herself. On days when she missed you a lot, she would clean your room several times a day and then sit on the bed daydreaming for hours." Sterling's voice sounded much lower and deeper than usual. Sophia dropped her eyes, brushing her fingers on the items in the room slowly. There was a suffocating feeling in her heart. The things in her room were preserved much better than when she was around. She could see the effort that was put into it. "During that period of time... Mom was also diagnosed with depression. She received treatment for a period of time before recovering. She’s suffering from a depression relapse lately. I saw her taking her medication secretly." "Soph, I may not be a clever person, but I know what you’re worried about. You’re afraid to get close to Mom again for fear that Dad would use her to force you into doing the things that you hate. But… In any case… I don't know what to say anymore!" Sterling pulled his hair irritably. Depression?! Sophia stared at him in shock, her lips and fingers trembling slightly, her face paled suddenly. "Her depression… relapsed? Why didn’t you tell me?" It was particularly difficult for her to utter the last word. She was almost squeezing it out of her throat. Sterling hummed in reply. He did not say anything else and simply stuck his hand into his hair with an irritated look on his face, tugging at his hair that he had just dyed black just to look more reliable. He was considered to have assented tacitly. Sophia’s complexion turned ghastly pale as she held onto the wall next to her for support. A huge and invisible big hand was seemingly clutching at her heart, stifling and suffocating her. Sterling did not say another word. The entire room was enveloped in pin-drop silence. The silence, however, felt like a jack that weighed thousands of catties as it weighed heavily on Sophia's nerves. Click. At this moment, a sound came from the room door, breaking the silence. "Dada~ You will become baldy if you pull your hair~" "Ha~ Mm~" The twins had groped their way to the door. The elder sister stuck both hands on her waist and glared with accusing eyes; the younger brother was grinning so much that even his eyes could not be seen, nodding like a chick pecking its head in agreement. Sterling turned around to reprimand the twins, but the elder sister made a face at him, turned her back against him, wiggled her tiny bum, and ran away. The younger brother copied her. However, his short legs were not as nimble as his sister’s and he fell after running two steps, then stuck up his bum and staggered to keep up with his sister. "I allow this only because they’re my children. If someone else treats me like this, just watch me skin them alive!" Sterling's face was filled with helplessness and indulging. There was not the slightest trace of anger detected on his face. Sophia looked at him; her throat tightened. Are all parents like that? Was she too cruel for not forgiving her mother previously? "This is the room, Charles." At this time, James led Charles in and appeared in her line of vision. "The items in the room and the position of the items are all based on Soph's preferences. If you don't like it, you can change it. Wh..." Sterling glared at the two of them and cut him off straight away. "This is Soph's room, so of course everything has to be arranged according to her preferences. If Charles doesn't like it, then he can get lost immediately. Who gave him the right to alter Soph’s room?!" "Sterling White!" Seeing how Sterling was provoking Charles over and over again, James’ complexion was livid. Sterling leaned against the wall, crossed his arms around his chest, and looked askance at him. "What's the matter? You think I sound too harsh? I am not like you. You can betray your daughter to obtain glory, but I won’t betray my sister for anything!" "What kind of bullsh*t is coming out of your mouth!" James’ face was flushed when he was being contradicted in front of Charles. "I taught you etiquette for more than half a month all for nothing!" Sterling harrumphed coldly. James felt embarrassed. "With this attitude of yours, you can’t even compare to William, let alone surpass Leah!" Both father and son stood in sharp opposition to each other and ended up in a stalemate. Jenny seemed to have gotten used to this. She had been studying Sophia carefully, fearing that she would be unhappy with her room. Sophia was also staring at her. At the sight of her red and swollen eyes as well as the way she carried herself carefully, she opened her mouth but did not make a sound. There was, however, a particularly stinging sensation at the corners of her eyes.