Chapter 12
288 Vouchers
The crowd echoed in agreement.
Mason didn’t move. His gaze fell on Harper’s face. She was coughing, as if trying to expel all the alcohol. Her face turned pale and then purple, clearly in great distress, yet she didn’t struggle or resist. She just endured the humiliation, shrinking into a corner, looking helpless and fragile.
Her eyes were like a sieve, filled with wounds and numbness.
Ethan glanced over and called out to Mason, “Come on, what are you standing there for?”
Harper curled into a ball, her stomach churning with pain, but she dared not cry out. Under the numbing effect of al- cohol and the ravages of a severe cold, her consciousness was muddled, and she mistook this place for home.
If she was naughty, she would be beaten.
So no matter how much it hurt, she could endure it.
Mason walked in, his nose twitching slightly at the pungent smell of alcohol that emanated from Harper. He glanced at her and then, as if disgusted, moved away.
Seeing that Mason had no objections, a woman suddenly stood up. The light shone on her face-it was Sophia.
She took the fruit plate, slammed it on the floor, and then bent down to pick it up. She walked over to Harper, pinched her chin, and made her sit up. “How are you feeling now?””
Harper wiped the alcohol from her neck and nodded dazedly. She had to say she felt better, even if she didn’t.
“Since you’re feeling better, have something to eat.” Sophia handed her the plate of fruit she had just picked up from the floor. “You followed that drunkard father of yours, never got to taste such delicacies, did you?”
That was true.
Not only did she not get to eat them, but even getting a sip of hot water was a blessing.
In their eyes, it might be dirty, but Harper had eaten leftovers from the plates of guests and picked up sandwiches from convenience stores. The food that others didn’t want, the stuff meant to be fed to animals, was what she ate to fill her stomach.
So what if it had fallen on the floor?
Suppressing the churning in her stomach, Harper reached out with her frostbitten hand, picked up a grape, and put it in her mouth, satisfying their curiosity.
In Mason’s peripheral vision, she didn’t hesitate. After chewing slowly, she swallowed the grape.
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09:35
Chapter 12
This was followed by laughter and jeers.
“She actually ate it. Isn’t she worried about it being dirty?”
“How disgusting.”
“Look at her hands, so ugly.”
The whispers and open comments didn’t avoid her.
But Harper didn’t mind. She smiled and said, “It’s sweet. Thank you.”
It really was sweet.
The last time she had eaten fruit was a rotten apple, which was bitter and sour, and not tasty at all.
Sophia’s mouth twitched. “If it’s so good, have some more.”
As she reached for a second piece, the fruit plate was suddenly snatched away. Mason’s shadow enveloped her. He stood in front of her, tall, slender, and so precious that he seemed untouchable.
With the plate, Mason threw everything into the trash can.
The room fell silent instantly.
Mason didn’t like this kind of game, taking pleasure in humiliating others. It was like children playing house. He felt an unusual irritation, not knowing whether he was angry at these people or despised Harper’s degradation. “If you like it so much, go ahead and pick it up.”
He threw the plate, along with the dirty food, into the trash can, bent down to clean his hands with a tissue, and then walked out of the private room.
Through the door, there was a commotion, urging Harper to pick up the food from the trash can.
Mason couldn’t bear to listen and walked away quickly. When he realized he had left his phone behind and went back to get it, he passed by the restroom. The sound of vomiting from one of the stalls assaulted his eardrums,
The alcohol in her stomach, if not fatal, would at least lead to a severe hangover.
09:35
