Chapter 339


    Upon noticing the dazed look on Sonia’s face, Charles leaned forward and asked, “What’s wrong,


    baby?”


    Sonia snapped out of her thoughts and was initially surprised to see how close Charles’ face was to


    her own. Quickly taking a step back, she averted his gaze and mumbled, “Nothing.”


    Charles narrowed his eyes at her demeanor. What’s going on? Is she hiding from me?


    “Sonia, can we go and see Grandma now?” To one side, Tyler was annoyed to see Sonia getting


    too close to any man other than Toby. As far as he was concerned, she belonged to Toby alone, and


    as Toby’s younger brother, he was obligated to ward off any other man who tried to get chummy


    with Sonia.


    Sonia nodded. “Okay, let’s go.” With that, she turned to address Charles. “So I guess I’ll get going


    then, Charles.”


    “Go on,” he replied with a nod.


    Sonia gave Tyler a look, and they sauntered in the opposite direction of the elevator lobby.


    This floor was dedicated to VIP wards, so it was no surprise that Rose would be staying here. “Here


    we are,” Tyler announced half a minuteter,ing to a stop in front of one of the doors.


    Sonia looked up at the que that bore Rose’s full name and gently knocked on the door. It opened


    within seconds to reveal Mary, whose eyes glimmered in relief as she eximed, “Oh, it’s you,


    Young Mistress!”


    Sonia smiled at her. “Hello, Mary.”


    “How good of you to drop by, Young Mistress,” Mary said cheerily. “Old Mrs. Fuller was just talking


    about you. She’s been calling you, but for some reason, she couldn’t get through your phone.”


    “My phone ran out of battery,” Sonia exined ruefully. She had forgotten to charge it after her call


    with Tylerst night, and when she woke up this morning, she saw that her phone had died but


    chose to do nothing about it.


    She had thought that she could charge her phone once she was back home, but little had she


    known that Rose would bombard her with calls.


    “It’s alright. Come on in, Young Mistress.” Mary ushered enthusiastically as she opened the door


    fully to allow Sonia’s passage.


    “Okay.” With a nod, Sonia stepped through the open door with Tyler and Mary in her wake.


    At first nce, Rose was lying in the hospital bed, looking like a frail old person who had just drifted


    off to sleep. Lowering her voice to just barely above a whisper, Sonia called out in greeting,


    “Grandma.”


    She thought the old woman had fallen asleep, but she was caught off guard when Rose’s eyes


    fluttered open instantly. A wide smile stered on Rose’s wizened face when she saw her visitor.


    “Sonia,” she greeted affectionately.


    “Hello, Grandma.” Sonia walked up to the bed and sat down next to it.


    Rose took her hand in hers affably and asked, “What are you doing here, Sonia?”


    “I just got discharged today, and I ran into Tyler while waiting for the elevator.


    When I found out you were here, I tagged along with him so I could visit you. How are you doing,


    Grandma?” Sonia’s eyes searched the old woman’s face with concern.


    Rose beamed. “I’m perfectly fine. The doctor said that panic got the better of me, and with my old


    age, my blood pressure spiked without warning and caused me to copse. I’m all better now, and


    I’ll be going home this afternoon.”


    “That’s good to know.” Sonia nodded, feeling reassured.


    However, the lighthearted moment was quickly disrupted by Tyler’s belligerence as he interjected


    tearfully, “That’s not true! The doctor said that Grandma only got lucky this time, but if the same


    thing were to happen again—”


    “Tyler!” Rose cut him off with a warning look on her face, no longer patient and affable as she


    signaled him to keep quiet.


    Nevertheless, Sonia caught on to the insinuation that Rose’s copse was a sign of something


    graver, and she pursed her lips before urging, “Tyler, go on.”


    Tyler nodded and picked up where he left off. “If Grandma were to copse because of her blood


    pressure once more, then she would be at high risk of getting a stroke, and she’d be paralyzed


    forever.”


    “What?” Sonia’s eyes widened in rm, and she tightened her grip on Rose’s withered hands.


    “Grandma...”


    Rose heaved a sigh but resumed her gentle facade as she cated, “Don’t you worry about that


    right now, Sonia. With old agees sickness; it’s inevitable.


    Besides, if I’m not too strung up about it, you shouldn’t as well.”


    “But—”


    Sonia was about to protest, but Rose interrupted. “By the way, Sonia, I’d like you to be honest with


    me—did Toby ask you to end the pregnancy?” She had only copsed the night before thinking that


    her grandson was the reason why Sonia terminated the pregnancy.


    “No, he didn’t,” Sonia answered with a firm shake of her head.


    “Really?” Rose gazed at her intently.


    “Really,” Sonia reassured. “President Fuller didn’t force me to do it; I chose to end the pregnancy.”


    She lowered her gaze then, looking guilty. “I got into an ident, and I couldn’t keep the baby.”


    “An ident?” Rose repeated in astonishment.


    Sonia’s eyes shone with tears. “I slipped and fell, and the miscarriage followed.”


    “I see,” Rose said mournfully, patting her chest as though to soothe the heartache. A bitter smile


    tugged on her lips. “I suppose there’s nothing we could do. Maybe it was fate that we never got to


    meet the baby.”


    Sonia could tell the old woman had really hoped to see the baby greet the world, and a twinge of


    guilt seized her as she whispered, “I’m sorry, Grandma.”


    Rose patted her arm. “You don’t have to apologize. You have never once hurt our family in any way,


    which is more than I can say for the rest of the Fuller Family. Toby put you through so much.”


    Initially, Rose had nned on doing everything she could—even if it meant casting her own dignity


    aside—just to push Sonia and Toby back together, given how Sonia was already pregnant with his


    child anyway. However, now that Sonia had lost the baby, that n had as good as gone to the


    dogs.


    This is all Toby’s fault. If only he’d told me sooner about the pregnancy, I’d have done


    everything in my power to fix his rtionship with Sonia! s, her goodwill could not beat out the


    cards dealt by fate; perhaps Toby and Sonia really weren’t meant to be together after all. At the


    thought of this, Rose shook her head in bitter resignation.


    In the following hour, Sonia kept Rosepany until she decided to get going, seeing how Charles


    was still waiting for her out in the gardens. She hated to let him wait for much longer in this cold


    weather.


    “Sonia, are you—are you going to see Toby?” Rose asked in a slightly hesitant tone, regarding the


    younger woman with an unreadable look in her eyes.


    Biting down on her lip, Sonia finally shook her head curtly and said, “I don’t think so. The string that


    tied me to President Fuller snapped the moment I lost the baby. I’m grateful that you took it upon


    yourself to punish him for me, Grandma, but as of now, President Fuller and I will no longer have


    anything to do with each other.”


    Còntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    By the time she paid back all that she owed Toby, she would cut him off entirely.


    Seeing the somber gleam in Sonia’s eyes, Rose sighed wistfully and said atst, “Very well, then.


    Tyler, could you escort Sonia out, please?”


    “Okay.” Tyler was sulking as he agreed to see Sonia out. He couldn’t understand how she could be


    so heartless as to not visit Toby, who was a patient. Surely it wouldn’t be an issue to visit a patient!


    Presently, Sonia bade Rose goodbye, then fell in step behind Tyler as they walked out of the room


    and toward the elevators.


    Just as they were drawing close to the elevators, Tyler abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned to


    give Sonia a wounded look. “Toby’s in the ICU ward up ahead, Sonia. Are you really not going to


    see him?”


    “No,” Sonia replied with an air of finality.


    Upon hearing this, Tyler clenched his fists and pleaded, “Sonia, he’s in really bad shape. Can’t you


    please just go over and visit him for a bit? Please?” Then he bowed deeply before her, with his


    waist bent at a sharp angle.


    Sonia was startled by his desperation. Frowning, she argued, “Don’t you think you’re forcing me


    more than you’re asking me for a favor?”


    “I’m not. I didn’t think much of it, but I know that there’s a higher chance of you caving if I did this,”


    Tyler admitted gravely as he straightened up and looked her in the eye.


    Without waiting for her to respond, he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, then hauled her


    along as he ran down the hallway ahead of them.


    It wasn’t until after they had stopped in front of Toby’s room at the ICU ward that Sonia realized


    where she was. The ICU ward was different from the typical hospital ward. The walls were all made


    of ss, and Sonia didn’t have to go in to see what was happening inside.


    She could clearly see Toby, who was deathly pale as hey on the hospital cot, his bare torso


    heavily bandaged. More astonishing was his back, which looked as if the doctors and nurses had


    taken care to drape a fitted white sheet over it.