Chapter 297 Don’t Make Things Difficult For Soph

“I’m already up, so I might as well have breakfast downstairs. Where are Nicole and the kids?” Sophia asked. Sterling replied to her, but his eyes were staring at Charles. “They’re still in bed. They’ll have breakfast later.” After that, he frowned when he saw Charles’ hand around Sophia’s waist. He wanted to say something, but the words got stuck in his throat. He forced himself to swallow them. “Go ahead and have breakfast first. I’ll head back upstairs to change my clothes,” Sterling said to Sophia and later grunted loudly at Charles before going upstairs. When they got to the dining room, James and Jenny were already there. The former had an unhappy look on his face while the latter’s eyes were red and swollen. She looked terribly pale. “We were about to get both of you down for breakfast, but here you are!” A smile immediately appeared on James' face when he spotted them. He stood up and took special care to pull out a seat for Charles. Charles did not take the seat, but he did not stand on ceremony either as he got Sophia to take the seat. The smile on James' face froze for a second, but he quickly pulled out another seat. “I have no idea what you like to eat, so I prepared a little of everything. If there’s nothing you like, I’ll get someone to buy more food.” “Okay,” Charles replied with a neutral expression as he took the seat. He placed a few of Sophia’s favorite foods into her bowl. Sterling had changed into his clothes and just entered the dining room. He immediately went to pull out a seat beside Sophia and sat down. When he saw Charles placing multiple food items into Sophia’s bowl, he did not back down either and did the same for Sophia. Sophia knew Sterling was holding in his anger, so she said nothing. “Sterling, stop this nonsense!” James berated him. James turned to look at Charles and said warmly, “Charles, it was your Aunt Fisher’s fault for what happened last night. She was worried about the predicament you and Soph are in. She meant no harm. Please forgive her for it.” Jenny wiped the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief. “It was thoughtless of me about what happened yesterday. It had nothing to do with Soph. Charles, it’s okay for you to blame me, but please don’t make… Don’t make things difficult for Soph.” Charles ate his breakfast slowly, occasionally placing some food into Sophia’s bowl. He said nothing. James said, “Just listen to what you’re saying! You did it for their sakes. Besides, Charles treats Soph so well, so how would he blame you and Soph? Am I right, Charles?” Charles swallowed his food and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin even though his lips were clean. “I’ve recently realized how much I hate people who do whatever they like by brandishing around the reason of ‘for your sake’.” James laughed awkwardly. “This was certainly your Aunt Fisher’s fault, but she is your elder, after all. Would you be able to forgive her for this?” “Mrs. White drugged me with an aphrodisiac this time. What about the next time? It’s a scary situation to think about,” Charles said calmly. He did not relent with his words, which made James’ expression change into an extremely unhappy look. Sophia put down her chopsticks and gripped the corner of her shirt. She turned to Charles and said, “My mom…” “Have more, it’s nourishing for you,” Charles scooped her a bowl of chicken soup and interrupted her. Sterling slammed his chopsticks onto the table and stood up in quick succession. “Sit down,” Sophia pulled on the corner of his shirt and said in a quiet voice. Sterling clenched his fists. There were numerous red veins in his eyes that he looked like he had on red beauty contacts. “But…” “Sit down!” Sophia pulled harder on the corner of his shirt, a look of unhappiness appearing on her face. Sterling cocked his head to glare at Charles before sitting down unwillingly. He picked up his chopsticks and ate loudly on purpose. James observed the siblings’ interactions, and once he was sure they would not be interfering any longer, he smiled forcefully. “Then tell me, Charles, how do you want this to be handled?” “Do I get to make the decision on how this will be handled?” Charles leaned back into his seat, resting his back against the chair. James coughed drily. He thought about that huge piece of land in G City and felt pain. “As long as your demand does not cross the line, anything can be discussed.” “Things will be easier done with this promise of yours.” Charles sat up straight, and a small smile appeared on his lips. James’ heart fell when he saw this, and his eyelids started twitching. “Well, it looks like you’ve already made a decision… Hahaha...” James could hardly maintain his smile at the end of the sentence. “There’s no need to be so nervous. I’m not demanding for too much,” Charles said. James smiled. “I’m not nervous. I’m not nervous at all. Once you marry Soph, we’ll be a family. I believe you won’t serve me a bad turn.” Charles replied, “Thank you for your trust. Which position are you prepared to arrange for Soph?” At this, James could almost guess what Charles would be demanding. He replied vaguely, “It’s best to start from the bottom. If she’s given a high position out of nowhere, the staff will think she relied on nepotism. This would cause a negative effect on her and might even give her major psychological pressure.” “There’s no need for you to worry about that. One can only be motivated with pressure.” Charles took a paper napkin and passed it to Sophia when he saw something stuck next to Sophia’s lips. Sophia was taken aback before taking the paper napkin. She took out her phone to check her lips and wiped away whatever was stuck there. James picked up his chopsticks and pointed at the dishes. “Let's eat while we discuss. It’s good to have pressure, but if it’s too heavy, it’ll destroy one’s mental health. It’s not a good idea to help a shoot grow by pulling it up. I’m doing this for Soph’s sake.” Charles picked up his chopsticks as well. “There you go again. I’ve just said that I hate those who brandish around the reason of ‘for your sake’ to handle things, and here you are doing it once more.” “It’s probably a habit for parents. We’re used to saying it all the time.” James picked up his bowl to drink his congee, making it difficult to see his expression. Charles chewed his food and swallowed before saying, “You worry too much. When you appeared out of nowhere and took over the role of president for White Industries, it caused many people to be upset, but weren’t you also successful in the end?”